Pure
by Merikatori
Summary: They met her when they were 7, they grew up together, she was their light and they were her shadow, they were childhood friends. But things changed and what if they all wanted something more than friend? Would they get it and were forever bonded, or love would ruin their beautiful friendship? [StiLu][RoLu][Au]
1. Chapter 1 - He's such a jerk

**My first fanfic ever XD I'm so excited, please be nice to me :D**

**English is not my first language so ... yeah, forgive me if I make any mistakes and don't hesitate to point it out, I'm not the best but I'll try my best.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 1 - He's such a jerk**

"I'm so sorry"… *sob sob*… "I know that you like him a lot, maybe even love him." … * sob sob* …. "But love can't be forced, you know that, right? *sob sob* – Lucy tried the tenth times to comfort the girl in front of her but she just wouldn't stop crying and sobbing and sniffing. She sighed.

_Sting Eucliffe, you're so dead. _

She thought angrily, tried to calm herself down before she decided to rush at him, punch him to destroy his handsome face or kick him in the groin so he would never be able to reproduce again.

"B.. *sob* ..but he...*sob* s..said *sob* h…he.. l..liked *sob* m..me *sob* too".

"I know, I know, but … maybe he only meant he … liked …you, not liked … like … you know."

*huaaaa huhuhuhuhu* (The girl cried even more)

Lucy felt like dying, how did she even get into this dilemma in the first place? The last time she remembered, she swore that she would never end up fixing another mess made by Sting Eucliffe a.k.a her childhood friend ever again.

_Gosh he's such a pig. Running around making girls cry like that, how did we become friends anyway? _

Sure he was her childhood friend, they has known each other for 10 years but ever since she returned from America, every time he broke up with some girls or rejected some girls, she just has to be the one to clean up his mess. And that… was fucking annoying. She wondered how Rogue could keep up with him like that. If Lucy didn't have such a high tolerance, Sting would be dead a long time ago and this time of every year would be his death anniversary.

*Rrrriiiinnnng rrriiinnngggg…*

_Finally, save by the bell. _

"I'm so sorry about you and him, just … try to move on, okay? That's all I can say to you." - The girl nodded and forced a little smile.

"Thank you, you're so nice."

She thanked Lucy and made her way to her classroom still crying and sobbing and sniffing. She sighed again and came back to her classroom. She hoped that the girl would feel better.

_There goes my lunch time - again, instead of sitting under the sakura tree – my favorite spot – eating my delicious lunch my mom had made for me, I just have to try to comfort another ex-girl friend of that Bee-boy, I wonder what do girls see in him anyway? Sure he's handsome with that blond spiky hair, a lean, gorgeous body with muscle and stuff, a bad boy attitude that every girl wants to tame – that's what they say and he's the star of Sabertooth basketball team. But other than that, what else? Don't tell me that all they see in him. _

Lucy never cared about how Sting looked like, she only cared about his personality, she didn't understand why girls still drooling over him although he acted like a jerk. She sighed – again, made her way to her desk, so lost in thought that she didn't notice Gray or Erza was waving at her or greeted her.

_I'm his childhood friend._ She rolled her eyes. _I've been with him long enough to know that he eats like a pig, sleeps without any clothes on, always teasing me, very possessive… etc etc…_ She smiled a bit. _All those girls probably don't know that, if they know about it, his reputation will be totally destroyed. Two years and he's still no different. _She shook her head, still smiling like an idiot and then lost in thought again.

"Lucy." (no answer) "Lucy." (still no answer) "LUCY!". Lucy jumped. "Huh…?" She looked at the Erza and Gray, worry was written all over their faces.

"We've been called you for almost 10 minutes, are you okay?" – Gray asked worriedly. -"Yeah Lucy, are you feeling well?" – Erza put her palm on Lucy's forehead to check her temperature.

Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster had been her best friends since junior high school. After she came back from America, they met again at Fiore Academy. Erza was really scary but she's really care about her friends, protective of them, especially Lucy, no one dared to make her cry (yet) because they afraid what would happen to them once Erza found out. She was the president of Student Council and the best at fencing.

Gray was the male swimming team's captain, he loved swimming, and was usually been found half-naked, probably due to his liking. He had a crush on the blond when they were in junior, he tried to move on after realized that Lucy maybe never be able to return his feeling but he still cared deeply for her.

"I'm fine, guys." - Lucy smiled, she felt very lucky to have wonderful friends like them.

"Just thinking about some stuff, I'm okay." - Erza and Gray nodded

"All right, but if something's wrong, you have to tell us okay?" Erza demanded.

She giggled - "Aye, ma'am". With that, they returned to their seat as their home room teacher walked in. Lucy tried to put the thought about Sting aside to focus on the lesson. After all she now was the top student of Fiore, study was her top priority.

* * *

**[Time skip, after the fifth period]**

"Sting, why are you skipping class again? You're not a prodigy, you know." Rogue asked.

Rogue was best friend of Sting and they're like brothers. He was an orphan and adopted by Sting's father when he was 6, they'd grown up together along with Lucy. Rogue had messy black hair covered one of his eyes, he was calm, nice, quite and collected, the opposite of Sting who was rude, cocky, arrogant and short-temper, the only common between them was probably Lucy.

"It's not my fault that that old hag has a crush on me, she creeps me out every time I see her. Did you see the way she look at me? That's disgusting."

Sting shuddered, he rather stayed out here, lied down on the rooftop of the building, doing nothing, taking a nap or something, than stayed in class with that creepy - teacher Minerva. Minerva was the history teacher of Fiore, she was scary to most of them, and she had a student - complex. Everybody knew that she liked Sting, she didn't even deny it, although relationship between teacher and student is forbidden but she didn't care. And Sting, hated her because of that. He knew he had to do something about it or he wouldn't be able to survive till the end of the year.

"Tell Mr. Makarov or Mr. Jiemma about it once they return, I'm sure they'll have some methods".

Sting nodded, still staring at the sky. Rogue leaned against the rail, looking down the yard. He saw Lucy talking to the red hair girl and the black hair boy. She was smiling and laughing at something they said. Lucy was really beautiful. Just like Sting, Rogue had been her childhood friend for 10 years. She was the only girl Rogue ever cared about, he knew when she was sad or in trouble. He looked at her and smile a bit, remembered this noon when she stomped off to her class, pulling a wry face, not noticing someone was watching her.

_She's cute when she's mad, probably at Sting._

"Sting!" - Rogue called him

"Huhm….?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why dating all those girl when the one you obviously want is Lucy?"

Sting raised an eyebrow, turned his head to look at his best/childhood friend.

"I can't do that, she's my childhood friend, we've grown up together remember?"

"So?" Rogue also raised an eyebrow.

Sting sighed then spoke again. "It would be awkward between me and her. Beside…" - His voice saddened. - "I'm not good enough for her. She's too pure, like an angel, I can't taint her, I just want her by my side, that's all."

Rogue stared at him. - "You should let it go you know, the past is in the past, let it go, nobody blamed you for what happened."

He said. Sting didn't answer after that, he was deep in thought, it's not that he didn't want to let it go, he tried and tried but it was still haunting him until now. He sighed again then got up, brushed off some dust and made his way to the door. He turned the knock then looked back at Rogue who was still staring at him.

"C'mon, are you gonna stand there and stare at me the whole day? I wanna go home."

Rogue sighed then nodded. - "Let's go".

**End of chapter 1**

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**Read and Review please, tell me what you think :D Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Finally

**Thank you for all those favorite, following and reviews XD I appreciate it :D Here's the chapter 2, enjoy :D**

**English is not my mother language so forgive me if I make any mistakes :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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**Pure**

**Chapter 2 - Finally**

**[3 weeks ago]**

"Sting!"

"Sting, wake up, we're gonna be late!"

Sting groaned. - "5 more minutes" – He hugged his bolster tighter.

"No more 5 more minutes, you said that half an hour ago, wake up now or I'll leave you behind." - Rogue grumbled. Sting didn't budge a muscle.

He stared at the blond for a minute then sighed and narrowed his eyes - "Fine, I'm outta here." - He grabbed his school bag, grunting something sound like 'Idiot Sting' and left.

So there was only Sting at home, still snoring and mumbling in his sleep, father had gone to work very early. He didn't care if he was late anyway, he would skip class today if he had to, Rufus's party gave him a headache and a hangover, he just wanted to get some sleep.

* * *

**[Sting POV]**

_"Sting... my sweet heart... Sting."_

_I heard someone was calling me... a very familiar voice... a woman... Where am I anyway? I open my eyes and look around, everything are white, I can't see anything but white. Am I dead?... I snort, you're not dead you idiot, the great and mighty Sting can't be dead that easily…_

_"Sting baby, my baby…" _

_That voice again, I try to listen more carefully… _

_"Sting..."_

_I gasped. "Mom?" - That's mom's voice, I spin around looking for my mom, where is she?  
_

_"Mom, where are you?"_

_ …Wait, my voice sounds weird, like a girl, I scowl and look at myself. I'm… a kid? I look like I was 7 again. I'm wearing my yellow T-shirt with a white chibi dragon on it and some dots… That's strange, I don't remember my favorite T-shirt has some dots... red... dots… Is that…? Blood? I take a closer look, the dots then spread until my shirt soaks with blood, my eyes widen in horror, no… it… it can't be, not again, not again… I shut my eyes, so tight that my eyelids hurt, I hold my head and pray, pray that Rogue will be there to wake me up. Yes I know it's a dream, no, a nightmare, I just want to wake up, I have to wake up._

_"Sting, don't cry baby" _

_It's mom's voice again. I'm crying, I know I'm crying, I can feel my cheeks wet with tears, then I feel someone's hand touches my face. I forget that this is not reality, I open my eyes. Mom? Her hand is so soft and she's… smiling, mom's smiling at me. Mom .. I'm about to smile back but... then, it's looks like someone is pulling her away from me, but she's still smiling at me, I try to call her but no sound come out. Her face twitches, she vomits out blood and collapse. I'm staring at her with horror in my eyes, I'm trying to move but I can't, it feel like someone is holding my legs, then I feel something cold in my hand. I look at my hands then at my mom, tears are falling down my face, my eyes blurred. No, mom, please... please, wake up, please wake up, mom._

_I fall to my knees and scream..._

* * *

Sting's eyes shot open. He got up, panting, looking around then sighed in relief that this is reality. He touched his face and knitted his eyebrows.

_Tears? _

_Shit._

That nightmare again. He sighed, it still haunted him, after all these years and it still haunted him… He gulped, his throat was dry, he rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. It's 9 AM, he'd been late already, he didn't have to hurry, another minute wouldn't change anything. So he took a bath, wore his uniform and left for school at 9.40. Sting disdained to run, just walked with deliberate steps. He didn't think of anything, the flashback of the nightmare just kept playing in his mind, made him feel numb and empty.

_What should I do so that fucking past could leave me alone? Was I really a horrible person in my previous life, so now I have to take the consequences? _

He sighed, tried to put that thought aside and focus on where he was going. The last time he was so deep in thought, he had lost and had to call Rogue to come to the rescue. Rogue just kept teasing him after that.

He looked at one of the shop as he passed by, and a white simple summer dress with flowers at its hem attracted his attention. He stared at the dress, it reminded him of a girl. A girl with blond hair and radiant smile.

_Lucy… White suits her. _

The corner of his lips turned up, he missed that girl.

_When will you come back huh, you little brat? _

Lucy had gone to America two summer seasons ago because her parents had business abroad. It was a usual morning when Sting and Rogue came to Heartfilia's mansion so they could go to school together. But when the boys came, Caprico said that they had gone. Lucy's mother – Mrs. Layla didn't want to leave her daughter behind so they decided to bring her along. He also said he didn't know when would they come back, because Mr. Jude didn't tell him exactly when, just told him to take care of the mansion and they would come back as soon as possible.

Sting was really mad, he couldn't stand not see her one day and now he couldn't see her for God knew how long? It would be torture and he knew it. They were both worried and upset because Lucy didn't say anything about leaving, she'd just... gone like that. But a week later, they got a mail from her, it said that she was fine and so sorry that she couldn't say goodbye to them, even a text or a phone call. She explained that if she did, she probably would have cry loudly and endlessly and they definitely couldn't have gone, at all.

Sting chuckled at the memory. They kept in touch after that, sent mails to each other once in a while. He missed her every single day, he missed her laugh, her smile, her touch, her voice. Lucy was very special to him. She was the reason why he could endure that blood curling memory everyday, if not, he probably would have gone mad and had to go an asylum. She was his light, his angel, his everything and he would do anything to make her happy.

_Lucy … please come back soon._

* * *

By the time he had gone to school, it was already 10AM. The third period was about to end in 15 minutes, so he went to the canteen to grab a burger, his stomach was grumbling loudly.

* * *

**[15 minutes later]**

"Hey Rogue... (no answer)Rogue ...(still no answer)….Rog-"

"What?"

He snapped, Yukino was bothering him till no end ever since the second period. She just kept asking about Sting: "Why was he not in class?", "Was he sick or something?","Why were you leave him behind?", "Can I visit him after class?" … blah blah blah … "Sting + late" was a regular sight to people in class but apparently, not to Yukino.

Rogue tried to keep calm but the girl was getting on his nerves. He glared at her. Yukino gulped and laughed nervously.

"Sorry, but… I just…".

She was about to finish her sentence but a figure caught her eyes. People also turned their head to see who slammed the door open, greeting the person then went back to what they were doing. It was Sting.

Yukino completely forgot what she was about to ask Rogue and focus her attention on Sting. She liked Sting a lot and still trying so hard to capture his heart but it seemed like he didn't take much interesting in girls. Sure he dated a lot but his relationships usually ended in about a week, sometimes almost a month. So she still had her chance, right? She recalled all the girls he dated and took notice that they usually had shoulder-length, blond hair and brown eyes. Was that his type of girl? She thought about it and decided not to cut her hair, just let it grow a bit longer and then she would dye it golden. She hoped that her new look would caught his eyes.

Rogue saw the way Yukino look at Sting and raised an eyebrow, he scoffed.

_Don't try so hard Yukino, I don't want to be the one who told you that the high and mighty Sting wanna break up with you. You don't want to taste that bitter feeling now, do you? _

Rogue was Sting's wing-man. His "mission" was "saying goodbye" to the girls Sting no longer took interesting in, the reward would be Sting doing all the housework for two days. It's just a simple task so Rogue didn't mind. He once asked Sting why he didn't do it by himself and Sting said that he hated seeing girls cry when the truth was, he hated seeing "blond girls" cry. It reminded him of Lucy, and Lucy + cry = Sting's weakness. So… yeah.

Sting made his way to his seat and felt Rogue's glare burning a hole through his skull. He chuckled and raised his hand, made a V mark.

"Yo, Rouge."

"Yo yourself, don't you know what time is it? Stop skipping class, you're not a pro "

"Prodigy, I know" He sighed – "Tell me something I don't know."

"Tsk.." Rogue turned his head to look outside of the windows but then looked at his friend again as if remembered something.

"Actually, there is something."

Sting stared at him then blinked – "Huh?"

* * *

**[Lunch time]**

"WHAT? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER!" - Sting shouted at him. He had to covered his ears or he would turn deaf. Rogue scowled at the blond.

"Relax, she hasn't been here yet, I just heard the news this morning"

"When?"

Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"Are you listening to me, I said this morning."

"No, I mean when will she be here, tomorrow or this after noon or…?" Sting asked, pacing back and forth, he was so happy, Lucy would come back, she would come back, he wanted to jump and shout and dance chicken's dance like an idiot but reminded himself that Rogue was still here.

"Huhm. Maybe tomorrow, I called her mansion this morning but Caprico said they won't return until tonight."

* * *

**_[Flash back]_**

_Rogue went to his class, still mumbling about something. He took his seat after had greeted Rufus and Orga. Taking out his note, he began to study in case he had to recite his lesson._

_"How did you know?"_

_"My mom heard it when she passed the principal office."_

_"An heiress go to our school? Woaaa..."_

_"Shush, you're speaking too loud, my mom would kill me if she knew I told you." - H__e sat behind two girl and could hear them clearly._ He scoffed. 

Like they didn't speak loudly enough.

_Fortunately, nobody except Rogue heard them because people were still busy bickering, chatting, or laughing to even notice._

_"A Heartfilia, no kidding" – Rogue's ear perked at the name - _Hearfilia? Lucy?

_His eyes widened, he slammed his note on the desk and turned to the source of the information. It took two girls almost 10 minutes before they could answer him properly, because they just kept staring at him with dreamy eyes and stuttering about something like "He's talking to me" and other stuff that he couldn't understand._

Lucy… Lucy will be here?

_He grinned and turned around swiftly before anyone saw him acting so out of character._ _He quickly pulled out his cell, dialed the number of Heartfilia's mansion. The bell rang about 20 seconds but he felt like forever. _

Finally, two years… You finally come back to us Luce.

_The butler picked up the phone and recognized Rogue's voice immediately. He then told him that Lucy and her parents were going home tonight and she would be at Fiore Academy tomorrow. Rogue covered his mouth, still smiling. _

Lucy, I wonder how she looks like, does her hair grow longer? Is she taller? Is she fatter?

_Rogue chuckled as he imagined the fat Lucy rolled down the street instead of walking. Whatever, he still loved her anyway._

**_[End of flashback]_**

* * *

Sting also snickered at the thought. Lucy and fat? A bad combination, he really hoped that she wouldn't get fat because he didn't want his spine got broken when he gave her a piggy back. Although he wanted to rush to the airport so bad to meet her the moment she got down the airplane, he didn't know when and she had to rest after a long flight... so he had to wait for tomorrow.

_Finally…_

* * *

**[The next morning]**

"Hime-sama… Hime-sama … please wake up Hime-sama." - Lucy groaned and rubbed her eyes. Virgo was standing near her bed, waiting for her.

"'Morning Virgo." She smiled... then froze.

_What is Virgo doing here? _

As if reading her thought, Virgo said - "Hime-sama, you're at home"

She blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"Ahh…" She chuckled – "Yes, home."

"I'm up, thank you, you can leave now Virgo, tell mother I'll be downstairs in a minute."

"Hai, Hime-sama" – She bowed, let Lucy uniform on the bed then left.

Lucy washed her teeth, took a quick shower then picked up her uniform. It was a white shirt with pleated striped gray skirt, she wore a diagonal striped tie and put on a light yellow sleeveless-sweater to complete the suit. Her hair had grown pretty long, passed her shoulder and flew down the middle of her back. She decided not to tie it. She looked at the mirror and smiled, she couldn't wait to see her friends again. Sting, Rogue, Gray, Erza, Levi, Gajeel, Cana... She was so excited.

_I wonder how are they now? I miss them so much, especially Sting and Rogue. Oh, I miss that Bee boy's yell every time I smacked him. _

She chuckled. _I miss Rogue's caress too. He did it all the time when we were young, when I was sad or in trouble, he would caress my cheek and asked me if I was okay, he's so sweet. _

She put on her black knee socks and slipped her slippers. She came downstairs to join breakfast with her parents. _Better be hurry, father won't be please if I take too long._

* * *

"Hey Gray."

"'Morning Gray."

"Nice shirt Gray, but I doubt that you can keep it on without take it off in thirty minutes." - Jet joked and the class busted out in laugh. Gray smirked.

"Wanna bet?"

Jet grinned.

"Bring it on." - With that, they started making bet on how long Gray could keep his shirt on. Levi giggled and Erza shook her head. Gray was more joyful than usual, they could see it. Well, everyone was because today they were gonna have a new member. Erza, Gray and Levi had already known who she was. She had called them yesterday after all.

* * *

**[10 minutes later]**

"Good morning class." – Gildart-sensei greeted his kids

"Good morning sensei." – The whole class stood up and bowed to their teacher then sat down.

He cleared his throat.

"Class, as you know, we have a new member today, please welcome and treat her well, okay? Come in, blondie"

Lucy was a little nervous, she hoped that she would be okay. She took a deep breath then walked in. Lucy bowed then put on her best smile.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lucy, nice to meet you."

The whole class was silent for a minute, Lucy wondered if she had said something wrong. They grinned and greeted her... well more like shouted at her.

"NICE TO MEET YOU LUCY!"

She jumped. _Woaaa,_ _that was unexpected._ Gildart chuckled when he saw it and he told her.

"Fairy Style, that's how they greet new members."

She laughed and thanked them. She recognized all her friends from junior high, she waved at Levi, nodded at Cana, smiled at Erza and winked at Gray.

At that moment, they all had the same thought.

_Finally..._

* * *

**[Lunch time]**

"Have you found her yet?" - Rogue shook his head.

Sting grunted. They were almost late this morning (again), so they didn't have time to go her place. They didn't know which class she was in but they wanted to meet her so bad that they practically ran around the whole school to find her.

The boys sat down, still panting from all the running, sulking and grunting, wonder why their favorite girl hadn't showed up yet, not noticing a figure was slowly sneaking behind their back...

Lucy was standing on the rooftop of the building when she noticed a blond and a raven hair was running around looking for something, or rather... someone. She chuckled. _There they are... Humh... haven't changed much. _Well, she decided to end their misery. Walking across the yard, she spotted them under a sakura tree, their backs faced her. Lucy sneaked behind them, took a deep breath and was about to shouted at them and made them jumped, then she would laugh at them and teasing them, just like old time. But they beat her to it.

"Long time no seen Luce." They said simultaneously and turned around, seeing her was blowing out her cheek. Trying to keep their serious faces, Rouge raised his left eyebrow while Sting raised his right eyebrow.

She sighed and pouted. "Aww… you ruined the surprise".

She stared at them.

They stared at her.

After a minute.

"LUCY!". They boys shouted (well ... more like Sting, Rogue just smiled) then rushed at her, Sting picked her up and spun her around in circle while they're laughing together. _Finally..._

"Okay, okay, put me down, you make me feel dizzy Stingy" - She said and smiled at him. Sting set her down, still holding her waist, he put his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, whispering – "I miss you Luce."

She touched his face tenderly. "I miss you too". They grinned at each other.

Sting released her and Lucy looked at Rogue, red met chocolate-brown. Rogue moved towards her slowly then swung his arms and hugged her tight, inhaling her scent. He caressed her cheek, making her feel warm.

_Gosh, I miss this... _

She closed her eyes. Sting put his head on her shoulder, hugged her from behind. The trio just stayed like that, enjoying the warmth under the sakura tree. Birds were singing and the sun was shining, like they were celebrating the meeting of three friends after two years of distance.

"Welcome home, Luce."

_Home… Finally._

**End of chapter 2**

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**Thank you for reading :D**

**I'll see you soon :D**


	3. Chapter 3 - Their friendship

**Hiiiiii! Thank you for favorite, following and review XD I appreciate it.**

**Luna New Year is coming, I got a break from school so I have pretty much time to write, I'm so excited XD.**

**Here the new chapter, I kinda put lots of details and sometimes I can't remember them all. So if you see any contradiction, just point it out :D**

**English is not my mother language so forgive me if I make mistakes and don't hesitate to point it out too. Thank you and enjoy XD.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 3 - Their friendship  
**

"Let me take a look…" – Said Sting after they released one another. He leaned back to look at her.

_Huhm… Still slender, thank God… taller, pale skin, brown-chocolate eyes, small nose, rosy-pink lips... huhmm... oh how I want to taste those lips so bad, hair are longer and... _

His eyes trailed down her hair, face, neck and halted at her brea….

"Gosh, Luce …" - He grinned – "Your boobs must have consumed all the nutrients, they look... really fecund". He nodded his head in approval.

"Pfff…." Rogue tried to contain his laugh while Lucy froze in shock, she blushed furiously.

"SHUT UP YOU PERVERT, WHERE ARE YOU STARING AT? AND LEAVE MY BOOBS ALONE!"

She yelled at him and smacked the back of his head. He laughed, clearly expecting her action. She glared at him and Rogue. Rogue turned away nonchalantly but you could see amusement playing in his eyes while Sting seemed unaffected. He then pinched her cheek and ruffed her hair. _She's so cute._

After fixing her hair, Lucy and her boys sat down in a circle. Lunch was long forgotten.

"How did you guys know it was me anyway?" - She asked.

"Your scent" - They answered simultaneously.

She stared at them for a while then started to sniff her armpits. Sting laughed lightly while Rogue smiled in amusement.

"Huhm… strange, I remembered taking a shower this morning" – She joked and grinned.

_She still hasn't changed. _Rogue shook his head then asked.

"So why didn't you call and tell us you were coming home anyway, we found out by chance you know?"

"Really? Sorry, I wanted to surprise you guys so I just called some of my other friends last night. …But… wait, how did you know that the new student was me? My father had asked Mr. Makarov quite obviously that my identity needed to be kept secret."

Lucy didn't want people to treat her biasedly or mumble behind her back because she was the heiress of Heartfilia family - the most wealthy family in the country. She didn't like the attention either, people would treat her more honestly if they didn't know who she was.

"Some girls told me about it, it seems like her mother eavesdropped on exchanges between Master and your father, she told her daughter and her daughter told her friend." - Rogue said calmly.

Lucy thought for a while then told him:

"Tell me those girls name later, I'll have my father or Mr. Makarov talk to them." - Rogue nodded then asked her which class was she in. She said that she was in F1 and asked them to explain some questions that she had about Fiore Academy, she forgot to google it on the internet.

Rogue said that beside regular classes, Fiore also had 4 guilds : Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus and Mermaid Heel. Every guild divided into classes depend on the number of its students, and had its own buildings as well as insignia. Lucy was in F1, so that means she was a member of Fairy Tail - class number 1. Rogue and Sting were in S1, that means they were members of Sabertooth – class number 1.

Those guilds were the places only for talented students. They must have at least an outstanding aptitude for something to be accepted to a guild. Sting and Rogue were excellent at sports, especially basket ball, Levi could speak 3 lingoes, Cana was one of the most potential boxers, Erza was a sword-player, Gray was the fastest swimmer ...etc. Lucy's mother - Layla used to go to Fiore Academy too, that's why Lucy was here, she didn't know that she was in the same class with most of her best friends was just a coincidence, or it was arranged by her mother. Either way, Lucy was happy that she could be near her friends again.

* * *

**[Meanwhile]**

Gray, Erza and Levi were sitting on their usual seat at the canteen. Erza was having a strawberry shortcake while Gray was having Udon* and Levi was texting with her boyfriend Gajeel.

"Nevi, iz Gazel feening betner?" – Gray asked with his mouth full of noodle.

Levi made a face.

"Is Gajeel feeling better?" – He swallowed and asked again.

"Oh... Yeah, he already took his pills, he'll be better soon" – Levi smiled.

"It's really unusual to see Gajeel to be on the sick list huh, and here I thought he was invincible." – Gray mocked.

"He's only human Gray, stop mocking him". Levi frowned

Gray chuckled - "Just kidding."

"I told him about Lucy and… wait…" Levi stopped texting and looked at her friends.

"Where is Lucy? She doesn't want to join lunch with us?" - She pouted.

"No, I mean, she wanted to but she had to see some of her friends first". Erza answered and Gray raised an eyebrow, she sighed.

"Yes, Sting and Rogue of Sabertooth".

Levi gasped.

"Sabertooth? But… they're Fairy Tail's rival. We have an unspoken rule that no Fairy should be friends with a Tiger and vice versa, right?"

"I know, but Sting and Rogue have been friends with her since they were 7, they've known one another for a very long time, so I guess that can be the exception. Besides the rule is not obligatory. Fairy Tail and Sabertooth were rivals, not archenemies. We'll tell them when it's necessary, I'm sure they'll understand." - Erza said calmly. Gray and Levi nodded.

_So there are only me and Gray that know about her childhood friends, huh…_

Erza was astonished back then when she heard that they were friends of Lucy because two of her friends... let just say that they didn't have a "very good relationship" with two Tigers when they were kids. They got into fights a lots untill her friends moved out of town and they hadn't met since then. She didn't know them well enough to trust them, even though they're Lucy friends. She hoped that Lucy's friendship with them wouldn't make war break out between two guilds in the future.

* * *

Lucy listened carefully and looked at the shiny metal object was pin on her sweater.

_So this is Fairy Tail's insignia. _

"Insignias were painted on buildings so students wouldn't get lost. They can choose to stay at the dorm if their house are too far from Fiore. Students were classified and transfered to every guild according to their aspirations._ Ahh, so it was mother's arrangement._

"Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus are specialized in artistic while Fairy Tail and Sabertooth are specialized in sports" – Sting said and wondered whether he should tell her about the animosity between Fairy Tail and Sabertooth or not, but finally decided against it, because it was a long story and kinda complicated so he would let her find out herself.

"Woaa, you guys play basketball, that's cool." - She exclaimed. Rogue smiled and Sting smirked.

"Wanna see us practice?". She nodded eagerly. Sting chuckled.

"Then waited for us after school okay?" - He ruffed her hair and they came back their classes. The bell had rung 10 seconds ago and they didn't wanna be late.

* * *

**[ The first period in the afternoon]**

**[Yukino's POV]**

I'm sitting at my desk, staring blankly at the green board. Ichiya-sensei was talking about Biotechnology 's achievement in fragrance industry or something, but the words just keep going in one of my ears then going out of the other, I'm still thinking about what I saw on lunch break.

I was at the library to exchange some books when I saw _him_, Rogue and a girl. Normally, I would just shrug it off and assume that was one of his girlfriends, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that she seemed different. They were having a staring contest, and I was wondering "What are they doing?". Sting said something to the girl then rushed at her and picked her up, spinning her around. My eyes widened, I blinked, what the hell was that? And he was …. laughing?

I gasped, quite shocking, he was laughing.

Sting was laughing and he looked really happy. I never saw him acting like that before. He would only smirk or give a sarcastic smile, never a genuine smile or a laugh. What was he laughing about?.

He set her down then put his forehead against her. I feel my heart ache. He looked so gentle and sweet. They're very close, I can see it. I wish that he could look at me like that with that deep blue eyes of his, touch me like he had touched her. Who is that girl? I've never seen her before.

She's really beautiful, she has long blond hair, pale skin and brilliant smile. I can't see her eyes but I bet that her eyes are brown. Same type as those girl he had dated but… Is she Sting's special girl? I'm not stupid, I know what I saw. He never acted like that around other girls. The Sting I know is cold, cocky and doesn't give a damn about anything. The Sting I saw was childlike and impartial. It was like he has split personality or something.

I looked at the trio again and saw Rogue also hugged her. Huhm… So she's not Sting's girlfriend? I really hope so. Maybe they're friends? But if she's only his friend then, why did he date all those girls who have the same look as hers? Was that a coincidence? Does he like her, love her even? The trio were hugging one another, but lucky for them not many people were passing by. I wondered what rumors would spread through the school when they saw what I saw.

Does Sting know that? He probably doesn't care. What if she's his special girl, and all those girls he dated before were only temporary replacement? I asked myself again. But then... what if she isn't? I can't jump in conclusion like that, right? I have to ask Rogue about her and I hope that he will tell me.

I can't give up now, I have to keep trying, I just need to be patient. He will return my feeling, he has to.

* * *

Sting was looking out of the windows, those boring lessons of Ichiya-sensei were long forgotten. He wondered how B1 (Blue Pegasus – class number 1) could endure and worship those lessons of their home room teacher. All he talked about was fragrances, perfumes, perfumes and fragrances.

He recalled the memory at noon, when he first saw _her_ after two years. His face stretched into a smile, he seemed doing that a lot today. How couldn't he? His angel had come back, he couldn't help feeling the warmth was spreading through his body just thinking about her. She was still childlike and violent but he liked that, his smile widened. _I sound like a masochist. _He laughed lightly.

He had so much to ask her anyway, like how was her life in America, was she in a relationship or not. _I hoped not._ Would she stay in Fairy Tail's dorm or stay at home, but knowing Lucy, she would probably choose the dorm. She liked being independent...

* * *

**[Flashback]**

_"Lector…Lector… where are you?" _

_The seven year-old Sting was calling, hoping that his cat would hear (and understand) him. Lector was a red hair kitten his mother had given him on his sixth birthday. He and Rogue was playing at the park near their house when they found out that Lector was missing. They split to find him and decided that whether they found him or not, they would be at home at 6 so their parent wouldn't be worried. _

_"Lector come on, we're gonna be late for dinner." _

_He kept running and searching and calling but Lector was nowhere to be found. He headed to the river bank and decided that would be the last one. _Look like I have to ask for dad's help._ Fortunately, a glimpse of red caught his eyes when he passed the ancient sakura tree. _Lector. _He quickly ran towards the tree but suddenly halted. _A girl? _A girl, probably not older than him, was petting Lector and the kitten was purring loudly. She giggled. _

_"Lector!" - He shouted then rushed at him. He held him protectively and eyed her cautiously. _

_"How dare you kidnap my Lector?"_

_Her eyes widened then she frowned._

_"Hey, I didn't kidnap him, I found him. You lost him, didn't you? So that's your fault"_

_He blinked and looked away embarrassingly. _Oh, right...

_"Go… Gomenasai" - He mumbled and looked at her again. The girl's eyes softened. She smiled at him._

_"That's okay. You probably was just worried about him, right?" - He nodded._

_"I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia… Nice to meet you". Lucy extended her hand._

_He stared at her, she was looking at him expectantly, still waiting. He grinned and took her hand. _

_"Nice to meet you too, I'm Sting Eucliffe."_

_She giggled. _

**[End of Flash back]**

* * *

That day was one of these most memorable days that he had with Lucy. _Our first meet. _It was like destiny. He, Rogue and Lucy became friends after that, she was their light and they were her shadow. Their friendship was really admirable.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Rogue was calling him. Rogue sighed, he was tired of calling him so he decided to smack his head with a pop.

Sting scowled then looked at his friend angrily. He was having a moment with his beautiful memory then someone just had to interrupt his thought in the most rudely way.

"WHAT THE FUCK ROGUE?" - He shouted at Rogue.

"Stop grinning like a jack-o'-lantern, Sting. You make their flesh creep". He deadpanned and looked straight again.

"Who-" - He knitted his eyebrows and was about to ask who the hell were they but stopped... then froze. The whole class including Ichiya-sensei were staring at him in shock, their jaws dropped.

_Who is he? And what had he done to Sting? _They all have the same thought.

Woaaa, Sting + grinning = not good.

Sting glared at them as if saying "What the fuck are you staring at?" . They gulped and immediately went back to their previous posture, looking straight ahead.

_Yup, old Sting's still there._

Ichiya cleared his throat – "Eucliffe, detention after school for making noise and not concentrating on lessons."

Sting groaned then hit his head on the table, repeatedly. _Damn you Lucy._

* * *

Lucy looked at watch and groaned. There were only 5 more minutes before she could go see Sting and Rogue, but it felt like eternity. _Wait, I didn't ask them where we would meet, shit. _She sighed.

*Rrriiiinnnngg ….. rrriiinnnggg…*

_Finally. _She quickly put her note and books in order. The whole class stood up and bowed to Yuuri-sensei then started to rush out of class. She asked Erza where was S1 (Sabertooth - class number 1), bidding her friends goodbye and ran out of the door.

Rogue was making his way to Fairy Tail buildings when she saw him. She waved at him.

"Hey, Rogue!". She hugged him again.

"I miss you, where have you been?" - She rubbed her head against his chest, oblivious to the looks people were throwing at them. Whatever, she didn't care and neither did Rogue.

He chuckled and stroked her hair - "We met 5 hours ago you know."

She giggled and grinned - "I know." - She looked around, searching for Bee Boy. "Where is Sting?"

"He got detention for _making noise_ and _not concentrating in class_". He said, making quotation marks with his hands, then swung an arm around her shoulder.

"Come see me practice first, I'll take you to him later."

She nodded and put an arm around his waist. They walked in the afternoon sun, humming their favorite song together.

* * *

By the time they arrived there, Sabertooth team was practicing. His teammates were surprised to see Rogue with a girl. They had never seen him with a girl before.

"Hey, where's Sting?" A member from S2 asked him.

"Detention". He answered briefly. He turned around and gave Lucy a small smile then went to the locker room to change. He put on his usual nonchalant face and told his teammates.

"Don't get close to her or talk to her, pretending that she isn't there, just keep practicing." He passed them, didn't need an answer. He didn't want Lucy to get in trouble with his teammates. They were Tigers and she was a Fairy after all. He had to be careful.

Lucy was sitting on the stand, watching them practiced in awe. She knew Rogue was good at sports but she had never seen him played before, basketball or not. She saw his teammates eyed her earlier when Rogue told them something. They looked kinda surprised. She wondered why. Anyway, seeing Rogue playing was really cool. She didn't like sports very much, except swimming and surfing but she perhaps would change her mind after this. Rogue seemed very comfortable, confident and less rigid. Lucy smiled, it was good to see him like that. She hoped that she could see Sting practice too but… oh well, maybe some other times.

* * *

Rogue panted, told the team to take a break then he turned to look at Lucy and caught her smile. He smiled back and made sure that nobody saw it but her. She then stood up and ran towards him. He looked at her expectantly, clearly waiting for her opinion. He knew he was good, excellent even, he just wanted to hear it from her.

Lucy knew what he wanted her to say so she giggled … - "You suck." - … then deadpanned.

Rogue sweatdropped, it was like she just splashed a dipper of cold water into his face, he frowned. Lucy laughed at him until he got annoyed and pinched both of her cheeks to make her stop.

"C'mon, tell me what you think." - He asked and smiled in amusement at her deformed face.

"I just told you, you suck Rogue." - She continued to laughed lightly. He flicked her forehead, making her yelp.

"Liar, I know I'm good."

"Then why did you ask?" - She pouted

A light blush crept its way to his cheeks.

"I just wanna hear it from you." - He mumbled and looked at the ground, tried not to make eyes-contact.

She raised her eyebrows in surprised and giggled. _Aww, he looks so cute._

She stood on her tip-toe and kissed his cheek.

"I was kidding. You're excellent."

His blush turned deeper and his heart fluttered. It was not like she hadn't kissed him before, she kissed him once but that was a long time ago before he hit puberty, she was the one who usually got his kisses, not the other way around and she was also the only one who could make him feel like that.

_God help me. _He coughed and cleared his throat to find his voice again, mumbling a small "Thank you".

This was definitely one of the best days of his life.

* * *

After watching them play for few more minutes, she bid Rogue a goodbye then headed to the staffroom to find Sting. Rogue had offered to walk her there but she declined, told him to continue to practice and she would see him tomorrow.

_Left, right and... straight ahead. There it is. Should I knock?_ She rolled her eyes at her stupidity. _It's a staffroom, Lucy, not an office. _With that, she turned the knock quietly, hoping that Sting was alone so she could startle him but then …she froze…

**End of chapter 3**

* * *

A/N: _Udon_: A kind of noodle

**I hope it's not so bad. Read and review please :D, tell me what you think. AAAAnd again, I'm sorry if I make any mistakes :D Have a good night.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Prank

**Hi, it's Merikatori again :3 And thank you for reading, following, making it your favorite and reviewing. I love you guys so much :3 :3**

**I finished this chapter yesterday but took a little too long to make a few alterations. I'm still not satisfied with this chapter very much, it's kinda boring, in my opinion. I hope it's not too bad. And I'm sorry if you think that the story's progressing kinda slowly but that's how I like it.**

**Again, English is not my mother language so forgive me if I make mistakes :D :D Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 4 - Prank**

Lucy blinked a couple times, trying to figure out what was going on…

A raven hair woman was standing near Sting, she bent, obviously trying to let him take a pretty good look at her cleavage. His back faced her so she couldn't see his face but she recognized the name tag on the woman's shirt. Lucy scowled, suddenly feeling irritated.

_A teacher? What the hell is she doing to Sting?_

_S_he leaned against the door, putting on her smiling face, crossing her legs and arms then cleared her throat…

* * *

Sting groaned the nth times of that day, annoyed by the fact that he should have been at the court right now, instead of sitting here and filling paperwork. He really wanted to impress Lucy with his talent but… perhaps not today. He tore his hair out and to rend those papers in pieces, but he suddenly stiffened when he heard someone's voice.

"My, my… Sting Eucliffe, what are you doing here?"

He didn't have to turn around to see who she was. _Minerva._ His eyes narrowed but didn't answer, he just continued to do what he was doing.

"Now, now, don't ignore your sensei like that, Sting. Have some respect." She said in a sing-song voice. He ignored her again, trying to calm himself down. Minerva moved to stand in front of him and smiled a seductive smile.

"Detention huh? Want some help?"

"No" - He said coldly. He really didn't know why a teacher like her could be accepted in Fiore.

_Ohh… right, I forgot, her father was Master Jiemma. _He inwardly rolled his eyes.

She chuckled at his rude word.

"Oh, don't be so cold like that, let me give you a hand to save your times then maybe… we can… have dinner together, what do you think?" - Her index finger made its way to his face and trailed down his jaw. He swatted her hand away, glaring at her.

"Not interesting, _sensei_, do you want me report to the police for harassing your student Minerva-_sensei_?". His voice laced with sarcasm but she ignored it.

"Oh, Sting, what are you saying~? What wrong with a teacher caring about her student, eh? I know you like it, don't you?"

She bent down, tried to show off her cleavage but Sting seemed unaffected. His eyes focused on her face, burnt a hold through her skull. He was about to tell her to fuck off, but he immediately frozen when he heard someone cleared their throat…

Sting quickly turned around and his eyes widened. Lucy was leaning against the door, smiling but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Hi Am I… interruptting something?" - She tilted her head, tried to look innocently but you could see the cold furry in her eyes.

"Yes/No." - They answered at the same time and Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Minerva-sensei was about to leave." - He quickly said before she could utter a word. Minerva frowned at him. She was having fun with her favorite student but someone just had to show up and ruin "their moment". She eyed Lucy from head to toe. _Bitch._ She made her way to the door, decided that her chit-chat with Sting could wait for another chance.

"Tsk…" - She glared at Lucy when she passed by. Lucy's smiled dropped and she glared back, eyes narrowed and void of emotion. When Minerva had already left, she moved towards Sting, who was sighing in relief.

"I didn't know you are a boy toy who likes cougar women Sting." - She teased to lighten up the mood.

"I'm not." - He frowned at her.

"Not what I saw." - She smirked.

"Lucy…." Sting sighed and gave her a stern look.

"That's not funny you know, my mood had already been ruined, don't make it worse."

"Sorry."

She mumbled, biting her bottom lip.

His eyes softened at the sight, he gulped and turned back to his work.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" She lifted her head, didn't expect that.

"Don't bite your lip like that, it's not good for them." - He lied, eyes focus on the paper in his hand.

"Ohh…". She nodded, then plopped herself down on the chair near the desk.

"So... what's going on between you and her? Minerva-sensei I mean."

"Nothing's going on between me and her, Luce." - He said flatly - "She somehow has a crush on me last year. At first, I could see that she was clearly fond of me, I thought that was normal. Teachers usually have their favorite students right?"

She nodded and kept quiet so he could continue.

"But, when school year was about to end... she started to show more obviously sign that she took interesting in me…" - He rolled his eyes - "She called me to the staff-room after school, asked me to help her, tried to seduce me, blah blah blah...". He snorted in disgust.

"Why didn't you tell Masters?"

"I told her to stop so we both could avoid the trouble but…" - He sighed.

"... seem like your rejection didn't affect her." - She crossed her legs and finished his sentence.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to tell Master Makarov and Jiemma when they return, they are attending a meeting in Minstrel and won't return until the end of next week" - She nodded.

"So... what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you go see Rogue practicing or something?" – Sting asked nonchalantly. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her blinked a couple of times. _She looks like a child_. He smiled inwardly.

"Oh, you don't want to see me? Okay."

She stood up and was about to leave but his hand caught her wrist.

"WAIT! That's not what I mean… I'm boring to death so stay".

He sighed, still holding her hand. She snickered and sat down again.

"I'd already seen Rogue practicing, he's really great." - Sting felt jealous a bit but put the feeling aside, keeping his face expressionless. _Wait until you see me playing. _He nodded, more at himself than her.

Looking at the pile of papers on the desk, she chuckled.

"First week of the new school year and you've already go detention? Impressive, Eucliffe." - She smiled teasingly, making him put on a scowl.

"That's not my fault, his lessons suck." - Lucy arched eyebrows.

"We're having a quality exam next week, you know. You should concentrate more on lessons even though they're boring."

Sting made a face. "So what? It's just a quality exam, it doesn't decide the result of the Autumn term's exam." Lucy smacked his back and crossed her arms.

"Idiot, quality exam's result appraises your learning capacity. If you fail, you will have to study harder than us a couple of times to catch up with other people. It's only for 12th grade students, and those who in guilds will have to take harder exams because Masters want us both scholar and a warrior. So you have two choices: study carefully or say goodbye to your precious times, which you can use to play sports."

She wiggled her eyebrows and grinned in a pervert way. He frowned but couldn't help chuckling at her face.

"I know, but really, his lessons suck and I couldn't understand anything at all". He grunted then stared at her.

"How about you helping me?" – He suddenly offered. She blinked, thinking for a bit then nodded.

"Okay, but... in exchange for what… I don't work for nothing, you know" - She smirked.

He stared at her for a minute then grinned, deciding to tease her. He leaned in close and she raised an eyebrow. She could feel his hot breath on her lips but she didn't back away, trying to keep her face nonchalantly although her heart's beating was increasing every second, she ignored it.

"How about a kiss?" – He whispered.

She put her index finger on her chin, pretending to think.

"Huhm… too cheap."

"…Two kisses then?" She shook her head slowly and giggled.

"Oh? So you want more huh? Tell me what you want then, I can give you paradise you know" - He leaned in closer.

"Okay~ You can back off now, Bee Boy, I'll help you study, just treat me ice cream or something and I'm good" - She laughed lightly and pushed his face away, a slight blush crept its way to her cheeks. He made a V mark with his forefinger and thumb, put it under his chin then smirked, you could see the sparkle all around him.

"Aww, no kiss? Are you sure? You're throwing away a golden opportunity, let me tell ya. Not many girls have that privilege, this is Sting Eucliffe we're talking about." - He said and Lucy busted out laughing, throwing her head back. Her laugh sounded like the ring of a wind chime to him.

"Thank you for your offer, but I'm good" - She snickered - "Come on, let me help you, then we can call sensei and go home, Rogue will go home first, that's for sure, he still have to cook dinner, right? " - They smiled to each other then turned to face their biggest enemy right now: paperwork.

* * *

**[A week before present]**

"How high are you?"

"56, you?"

"35."

"WTF, 101 , my parents would kill me" - It's was a Saturday afternoon at Fiore Academy, but it seemed a lot more noisy than usual. Students crowded about the big score-board, which was standing in the middle of the main hall. The result of the first exam of the year had been released a few minutes ago.

"99.8 points. Holy shit, are you even human?"

Lucy laughed awkwardly, nearly sweatdropped at Gray's question. After talking to her parents, Lucy was finally allowed to stay at the dorm, and being a Heartfilia herself, she had her own room, which was arranged by her father. So here she was now, scanning the board from the top to the bottom, trying to find out how high was Sting.

#1. Lucy Love. – Fairy Tail: 99.8 points

Lucy stared blankly at her name. _Lucy Love?_ _Master took that name?_ She shook her head. That's not a very good name, in her opinion.

#2. Rogue Cheney – Sabertooth: 99.5 points

_Wow, runner-up. _She smiled. _As expected._

#4. Levi McGarden – Fairy Tail: 97.5 points

#4. Hibiki Lates – Blue Pegasus: 97.5 points

_Levi tied with a guy from Blue Pegasus? Impressive._

#6. Rufus Lore – Sabertooth: 95.0 points

#6. Jella Fernandes - Fairy Tail: 95.0 points...

…

#10. Erza Scarlet – Fairy Tail: 90.0 points

#11. Kagura Mikazuchi – Mermaid Heel: 88.0 points

#12. Beth Vanderwood – Mermaid Heel: 87.0 points

…..

#68. Sting Eucliffe – Sabertooth: 68.0 points

#68. Gray Fullbuster – Fairy Tail: 68.0 points

#68. Gajeel Redfox – Fairy Tail: 68.0 points

Lucy sighed in relief. _Thank God, he didn't throw away my effort. I would definitely kill him if he didn't make it to the top 100. _

Top 100 was all the students who made it from 50 points and above. The rest would have to study harder and was given more homework than the others.

"Woww, look like the crown of a Tiger has been passed to a Fairy, congratulation, Lucy". Erza nodded in approval and gave her a small smile. Rogue had the highest scores in all the exams the last and previous year, but he was defeated by Lucy this year.

Lucy smiled back. What else could she do anyway?

"You still can defeat me after two years, Luce, as always." Lucy heard Rogue chuckled from behind her. She turned around and smiled at him sweetly.

"Hey, Rogue… Thank you, you're not so bad either. Shouldn't you stay at home and enjoy your Sunday morning instead of being here?"

"I want to see my result, besides no one's home anyway, father is in Bellum on an assignment and Sting…"

"… He's having a date".

Her eyebrows knitted together - "When will he be home?"

"I don't know, he's just left so probably gonna be late tonight, I guess."

Lucy's jaw dropped slightly and she shouted - "WHAT?" - She immediately covered her mouth when people turned their attention to her. She dragged Rogue far away from the crowd. Her eyes narrowed a bit, Sting had promised her that today he would take her to Rose* for ice cream and now he's having a date with another girl? She told Rogue about that, he snickered and shook his head.

"He probably forgot, just punish him or something and he'll make it up to you."

She pouted…

_Sting baka, you know I hate it when you break your promise with me. _She sighed, thinking about something then... her face suddenly lightened up, an idea flashed through her mind and she smiled impishly. Rogue saw that and his eyes widened a bit, he knew that face.

_Uh oh… Not good. _Rogue chuckled . _You'd better be prepare Sting._

* * *

Sting inwardly sighed. He looked at his watch the nth times, a clearly sign that he's boring but the girl just kept talking, and talking, and talking.

_Why the hell did I ask her out on a date anyway? _It was because before Lucy came back, he'd seen the girl - _What was her name again? Yumi? Yuri ? Yui ..? Never mind_ - acting like her on a few occasions, so Sting - being Sting - flirted with her a bit then asked her out. And that... was his biggest mistake.

Because of the exam, their date was postponed until this week. He left home at 3.30 and they decided to meet at 4, but the girl kept him waiting until 5. He rolled his eyes. _Girls… _They went to watch a movie but it was so boring that he practically dozed off during the film while she kept sobbing about why the main actor broke up with his girl. _If only Lucy were here, then I could go watch some horror movie with her instead of some stupid romance, licking ice cream with her instead of sitting here, being tortured. _

"And then… when he told me to…"

He sighed and grabbed his hair.

"Okay I've had enough…" - He threw the napkin on the table - "Could you just shut up for a minute, please? My ears hurt from all your rambling. You're pretty, I can give you that. But sadly, you have no brain and your sense of humor sucks, I made a mistake by flirting with you so now, all I want is to go home, sleeping, bickering with my friend or simply doing nothing instead of being here. Maybe you'll get a boyfriend if you talks less. Thank you, and good bye".

He stood up, putting his money on the table, didn't wait for her to utter a word then walked out of the door, got on his ZX-14R and speeded along the streets.

* * *

Rogue lied on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling, a small smile lingered on his lips. After Sting forgot about his promised with Lucy, she asked him to go with her instead.

**[Flashback]**

_"Rogue, go have some ice cream with me, I want ice cream." - She looked at him with pleading eyes and pouted lips. He smiled then ruffed her hair. He himself didn't like ice cream but… _How could I ever say no to you?

_"Sure." _

_With that, she went to her dorm to change, came back to where Rogue was waiting for her, hooked her arm with his and walked out of school. Rumors had spread through the school since they saw the trio more often, people kept mumbling behind their backs when they passed by but they just ignored it._

_Lucy was wearing a pair of dark blue jean shorts, white tank top, black jacket and brown combat boots, her hair tied in a high pony tail. Rogue was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans with long-sleeved white shirt and snickers. He chuckled at her choice of clothes and knew it was her purpose. _We looked like a couple. _They thought at the same time. _

_They decided to walk so they could talk more to each other…_

_Lucy was telling Rogue a funny story happened when she was in America and he laughed lightly._

_"You seem done pretty well in America" - He said tenderly. She smiled._

_"Yeah, but… I really missed you guys, I didn't make many friends there, although I'd been there for two years, they're more acquaintances than friends." - He nodded._

_"Sooo~ Rogue, I heard that you're pretty popular with the ladies, huh? Already got someone special?" - She said in a sing-song voice. _

_He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. He leaned close to her face and asked quietly._

_"What? Suddenly take interesting in me?"_

_She blushed slightly, clearly didn't expect his question and action then patted his arm playfully._

_"Idiot, I'm your friend, I have the right to ask you know" - She pouted, that made him smile._

If only you knew, Luce. _He thought. _

_"Well.. there is… a girl.." - He said slowly. -"She's really beautiful, long hair, deep eyes, really smart but dense at the same time." _

_"Who the hell is smart and dense at the same time?" - She asked and he snickered. _You._ He refrained himself from saying it out loud. _

_"She's very pure, innocent but sometimes she could be really scary and evil if she wants to, she always makes me smile and… she means the world to me." - He observed her reaction out of the corner of his eyes and saw her eyes was lingering on the ground, she frowned slightly and bit her lips. He unconsciously gulp at the sight._

_"How long have you known her?"_

_"A very long time ago."_

_"Tell me more about her? What's her name? Which guild is she in?_

_"Sorry, no can do. That's my own secret."_

_"She sounds really important to you. Why didn't you ever mention her before?" - She tried to keep her voice nonchalantly but Rogue knew her too well, he could see through her. He inwardly smiled._

_"You never asked." _

_Lucy frowned again and looked away, suddenly feeling her heart sting for no reason_. So if I hadn't asked you, you would probably never tell me about her, huh? _She sighed softly. _

But then again… the frosty Rogue has finally found someone special. Hearing him utter those words was really amazing. Lucky girl.

_Trying to put her jealous thought aside, she kept quiet and looking straight ahead again, didn't trust her voice to say anything back. Rogue just smiled at her sulking face and grabbed her hand, pulling her closer. Silence pervaded the air but neither of them minded it._

**[End of flash back]**

* * *

After that, they went to Rose and the atmosphere turned back to normal, they talked about everything and laughed together.. well… mostly Lucy, Rogue just listened, nodded or smiled, commented here and there. Her face was so lively, it made him want to smile all the time, and it's really hard not to smile when he was near Lucy. He just kept replaying the scene when she laughed as he said something funny or blushed at his teasing.

"And here I thought I was the only one who look creepy when I smile like that."

His smile disappeared. Ignoring his statement, he sat up and stared at his friends with indifferent eyes.

"How was your date?"

"Worst – date – ever" - Sting groaned and plopped himself down on the couch.

"Tsk… Instead of taking Lucy to the ice cream shop like you promised, you decided to abandon her to have worst – date – ever?" - Rogue said casually, just like Lucy, he hated it when people break their promises, purposely or not. Sting's face full of confusion, he blinked a couple times. _Huh? Ice cream? Lucy? Promise? _

"HOLY SHIT!" - Sting cried out and facepalmed. _How the hell could I forget? I promised I would take her out today. _

"Oh God, she's probably sulky with me right now."

"Yeah, she cried a lot you know" - Rogue deadpanned. He wanted to laugh at Sting's horror face but tried to restrain himself, he only said that to make Sting feel more guilty. Yeah, he was evil like that. _Well, he deserved that. _That was Rogue's punishment for him. Sting quickly pulled out his cell to called Luce but Rogue beat him to it.

"Don't call her, she won't answer. Just wait for her to chill out first." - Sting thought for a minute then sighed, he nodded and went to the bathroom to take a shower but blinked at the sight in front of him. _Something's missing._

"Rogue, where's the mirror?"

"Then nail broke and the mirror followed its destiny. I'll buy a new one tomorrow". Rouge said loudly. Sting only shrugged.

* * *

**[The next day]**

"Shush… you ….. up."

"What if…. mad?"

" …care …deserved it ….punish him… right?"

He was sleeping when he felt his face tickled. Sting heard somebodies were mumbling. A deep voice and a sweet voice, he tried to block out those voices and got back to sleep, but the tickle kept increasing. He scratched his face and opened his eyes slowly. Two figures appeared in front of him. The one with black messy hair was standing near his bed with boring face and the one with blond hair was glaring at him. He yawned, rubbing his eyes then blinked.

_Rogue and… Lucy? Lucy? What's she doing here? Wait… Lucy? - _He immediately got out of sleep.

"LUCE" - He yelled and hugged her tight - "Oh Luce, I'm so sorry, I totally forgot, please don't mad at me."

When she didn't say anything, he took a look at her and saw her face was red at a tomato and she was looking on the ground. _Oh no she's mad, oh God. _

"Luce, please don't mad at me, look at me Luce". He pleaded and tilted her chin.

She coughed, still refuse to look at his face then stuttered.

"Ehhhh Sting… C..could... y..you pl…please…put …o…on some…cl…cl..clothes" - She coughed and mumbled quietly. "You're naked."

Rogue snickered, trying not to bust out laughing and Sting's eyes widened. He looked down then shouted "SHIT", and quickly grabbed the blanket to cover his body then rushed to the bathroom. His face was all red and Lucy laughed out loud. She turned to Rogue, they shared a look and she grinned as if asking something. He smirked.

"Yeah… How long you think he will last before he find out?" - She smiled playfully.

"As long as possible, I hope". They put on their indifferent faces again when Sting left the bathroom, he blushed slightly.

"Nice butt, Sting". She teased and laughed at him.

"S... Shut up."

When the laughter died down, Rogue decided to leave them alone for a minute.

"I'm hungry, let go get some breakfast". He walked out, Lucy was about to follow him but Sting grabbed her arm, she turned to look at him quizzically and saw his eyes filled with guilty.

"Hey… I'm so sorry about yesterday Luce, I… forgot" - He mumbled the last part - "Forgive me, please?" - He coaxed. Lucy tried to keep her face coolly but his face made it impossible. She turned around and inwardly laughed, her stomach hurt from holding back. She yanked her arm away and crossed them under her chest, pretending to be mad at him.

"No." - She walked out again but he grabbed her around the waist, putting his chin on her shoulder and held her close.

"C'mon Luce, please, please, please, don't mad at me, I'll make it up to you, 'kay?" - He said in a sing-song voice, rocking her back and forth, trying to take a look at her face from behind but she immediately turned away. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Fine... You leave me no choice then." - Lucy frowned and was about to ask what did he mean, but she was suddenly attacked by his tickle. She busted out laughing, tried to pry his hands away but to no avail. He picked her up bridal style and threw her on the bed, made her squeal and continued to tickle her. Tears were falling from her eyes.

"St.. stop… hahaha… Stingg… hahaha. You're... hahaha... so dead... hahahaha" - She was yelling and laughing at the same time, Sting were straddling her to prevent her from kicking his face, he was also laughing.

"Fine.. hahaha… I …for... hahaha... give… hahaha... you" - He finally stopped when he heard that but still laughing at her. She glared at him but he could see sparkle gleamed in her eyes, she grabbed a pillow and hit his face continuously to make him stop. He yanked the pillow away from her grasp, threw it behind and crawled near her, she punched his chest playfully but he caught her wrists. Sting kissed her forehead, making her melt and she blushed slightly. He said softly.

"I'll make it up to you this time, cross my heart" - She giggled then stuck her tongue out at him, finally gave in - "Fine, but you better make it worth."

He chuckled and kissed her again, this time on the cheek. _Damn it, calm down, Luce, it's just an innocent kiss._ She smiled at him.

"Thanks, now let's go, Rogue's waiting" - He dragged her out of the room, grinning like an idiot. Lucy looked at his face and laughed lightly again, she (almost) felt bad about what she and Rogue had done to his face but… _Oh well, too late. _

**End of chapter 4**

* * *

_*Quality exam is actually exist in my school and like Lucy said, it's only for 12th grade because they're going to join college so they have to study harder._

_*Rose Ice cream shop is exist my hometown too. Me and my friend usually hang out there._

**Bad? Good? Disappointed? Tell me what you think.**

**Have a good day/night ;) I'll see you next time.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Tell me

**Hey, it's Merikatori again :D I'm sorry for taking a little long to update again. I'm still having my Lunar New Year holiday, me and my friends just keep partying and going out and I was so tired at the end of the day to write something :( Gomenasai :(**

**Anyway, thank you all of you for reading, reviewing, made this story your favorite. You guys are the best XD XD**

**And English is not my mother language so I'm sorry for the mistakes I made.**

**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail isn't mine. It belongs to Hiro Mashima and he's awesome XD**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 5 - Tell me**

**[3 days before present]**

"Aw c'mon Sting, you're still mad? It's been three days already, I thought we'd already over it." - Lucy complained.

Sting glared at her coldly but she just looked away nonchalantly.

"You embarrassed me in front of the town."

Lucy scoffed.

"Oh please, it was 7 in the morning. Not many people… saw… you". She was about to laugh again but knew that it would only make the situation worse so she bit her lips to restrain herself. Sting tried to calm himself down before rushed at her and strangled the blonde, he turned away, didn't bother to retort.

Last Sunday, when they had finished their breakfast at a small restaurant on their way to Fiore, Sting finally found out the reason why people looked at him weirdly when they passed by, and it went without saying, he felt extremely piss at Lucy that he had been mad at the blonde for three days.

* * *

_**[Flash back]**_

_"There are mirrors in the male restroom, right Rogue?" - Lucy tilted her head, Rogue chuckled then nodded. She clasped her hands and gave him a look that said "Can we please get out of here now?", he raised an eyebrow but pleased her anyway. _

_Rogue put his money on the table and Lucy quickly dragged him out of there before Sting came back. He actually didn't care what Sting was gonna do when he found out, it was not like he scared of him or something. It's just... because Lucy wanted to. Yeah... he's smitten like that. If Lucy wanted something, she just needed to tell him and he would get it for her, just to please her._

This girl would be the death of me someday. _He smiled a little at that thought.  
_

Three… two… one…. _Lucy counted in her head when they ran out of there. _

"_LUCYYYYYYY!" Sting's screaming could be heard from mile away from the restaurant. She busted out laughing and Rogue snickered._

* * *

_He went to the restroom when they had finished their _Choshoku*_ and stared at the mirror with horror on his face. Black spots, blue spots, red spots were presented all over his face, there was a big "JERK" in block letters on his forehead, two circles around his eyes with line segment to make it looked like eyelashes, hearts shapes on either his cheek, weird moustache and some other shapes that he couldn't understand. _

_Eyes still widened, he used his index finger to wipe his face, his mouth was now equal the size of a saucer. _Biro ink? _Yeah, that's why it didn't fade when he just washed his face cursorily this morning... without looking at the mirror, courtesy from Rogue. Someone on the street or in the restaurant would have told him if they hadn't see Lucy put her index finger on her lips and smiled allusively._

_Images and memories flashed through his mind, the mirror, Lucy's on his bed, Rogue, those stare and snicker he received from the waitresses and customers… He went pale and screamed her name. Sting quickly slammed the door open, people turned their attention to him and snickered or giggled again but he ignored them, his eyes searching for two devils but they're nowhere to be found. He rushed out of the restaurant and ran after Lucy. _

Oh you don't know what you just got yourself into _my dear Luce._

_"LUCY GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT, STOP HER ROGUE" - He yelled then accelerated, he perhaps could beat Usain Bolt at that very moment. _

_Lucy let go of Rogue arm when she realized Sting was only after her and turned around the corner, rushing along the street, and headed to the riverside, laughing all the way there. _

Big mistake Luce. Revenge will be mine. _Sting thought and grinned deviously, he was faster than her that was for sure. He extended his arm to grab her collar but she suddenly stooped down to avoid his grasp._

Sorry but I know you too well.

_His arm swung to the left and grabbed her waist. _

_"Nice try nerd, but you're not going anywhere." - He swung her over his shoulder, made her squeak but she was still laughing._

_"Put me down Sting, I'm wearing a skirt." - She yelled and punched his back, it didn't hurt one bit, more like someone was scratching his back._

_"Sorry, don't care." - He snickered and walked to the riverside. She immediately got what he's planning and her laugh died down. He halted at the end of the plank that jutted out from the bank. She gulped and said quietly._

_"Sting, put me down, now. Sting don't you dare…" - Her threat was cut off when she fell flop into the river. Lucy resurfaced and gasped. She stared at Sting, he was laughing like crazy and a vein popped on her forehead._

_"IT'S FUCKING COLD DOWN HERE YOU ASS!" _- _She screamed at him._

_"Yeah, serves you right" – Sting said loudly then got back to laugh. - "Hey Luce, what's ya doing down there? Looking for some fellow-fishes." _

_"Yeah right, at least I'm not the one who wore a dirty face with ink and paraded the town." - He shut up immediately and she smirked. She got out of the water and moved to stand in front of him, they were having a glaring contest when Rogue showed up and cleared his throat._

_"Have you two idiots done glaring at each other, I wanna go home." - Lucy stuck her tongue out at Sting and followed Rogue, holding her head high._

_He glared at her back but soon followed, didn't bother to wash his face first._

_**[End of Flash back]**_

* * *

Sting (almost) hadn't talked to her for three days. Although he was the person at fault at first, but she didn't have to embarrass him in front of so many people like that. His pride was seriously injured by her and before he was over it, he (almost) wouldn't talk to her. At first, Lucy didn't bother to apologize, saying that he deserved it for breaking his promise but it had been three days already and he still ignored her, didn't react to her tease and only sometimes answered her questions curtly.

Lucy, Rogue were sitting on the rooftop on lunch break while Sting was leaning against the rail, looking down the school yard, his face void of any emotion. Rogue was eating his bento slowly, he contributed to Lucy's prank too, but Sting seemed only irritated at her. It was because Sting knew once Lucy wanted something, Rogue could never say no to her, so... that made him guiltless. Rogue didn't bother to interfere their tension, he just let them resolve it themselves, that's what friends do, they argue then make up then argue and make up again. Simple.

Lucy stared at Sting, her lips pouted. She was getting really nervous and uncomfortable, a little bit guilty. _Maybe I overdid it, he had promised he would make it up to me after all. He had never mad at me beyond half a day before. I never thought it would turn out this bad. _

"Sting I'm sorry, okay? It's just for a little fun, you don't have to over-react like that". Well... Sting didn't budge a muscle. Lucy sighed.

"Fine, just keep sulking like a baby and see if I care, idiot Sting."

She turned around and walked away. She lied. Lucy actually cared but Sting wouldn't accept her apology like that so she would have to wait then do that again.

Rogue glanced at her for a moment then turned back to look at Sting.

"It's just a prank Sting, you don't have to be so harsh like that." - Sting glanced at him.

"I know, I don't take offense because of that, she did it all the time when we were kids."

Rogue quirked an eyebrow.

"I just want her to apologize appropriately, she can't get away with everything all the time just because we indulge her too much."

Lucy was not a spoiled princess even though she came from Heartfilia family, but when they were kids, she played pranks on them all the time, mostly on Sting and usually got away with it, because she had the magical puppy dog eyes and cute pouted lips. Sting couldn't be mad at her more than a day when she just kept following him around and courting fondling from him. But things were different now, they'd grown up, she had to aware that sometimes her pranks could hurt people physically... or mentally. What if the person she played her prank on was not Sting but was someone who was easily got wounded, that's what Sting thought or… convinced himself to think so.

"I still didn't see any different, she played a prank on you, so what? She did that to someone she was close, not everyone. You're still mad at her just because it's been 3 days but every morning, when you walked to school, people just kept snickering or grinning at you when you passed by, that made you feel embarrassing to no end, the high and mighty Sting can't accept that. So in short, that's just your excuses."

Sting sweatdropped and glared at his friend. He's about to retort back but Rogue gave him a I-know-you-too-well look, made him speechless. He grunted and looked away then mumbled.

"What ever."

* * *

Lucy stormed off the rooftop and headed back to her class. She hated it when people was mad at her. _He didn't make that big deal when we were kids. _She grumbled. Lucy was busy glaring at the ground that she didn't pay attention to where she was going till she bumped into someone. It was a girl.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" - She quickly said then bent down to help the girl to pick up her book.

"That's okay, I didn't pay attention either." - Yukino answered then looked at the girl. _That… girl._ She recognized the blonde immediately, how could she forget. She was thinking about how she could get closer to Sting when she collided with someone. Maybe that was her chance to find out more about Sting as well as this girl. Rogue told her that she was their childhood friend, but she wanted more information than that.

* * *

_**[Flashback]**_

_It was a windy afternoon when Yukino went to the grocery store to buy some vegetable when she ran into Rogue. He was picking out some cereals, she looked around to find someone but didn't see Sting anywhere. _That's good.

_She immediately approached him to say hi._

_"Hey Rogue, I didn't expect to see you here, what are you doing?" - She smiled and tried to start a casual conversation, but Rogue could actually "smell" her nervous from miles away._

_"What do you want?" - He said tersely, didn't bother to answer her question. He didn't even look at her when he'd already recognized her voice._

Why did he have to be so rude all the time like that? He looked different when I saw him with that girl. _She frowned slightly but smiled again._

_"Nothing, I just want to say hi" - She laughed nervously. _

_Rogue still didn't look at her, he picked 2 box of cereals, putting it in his handcart then walked away, Yukino soon followed him._

_"Every time you approach me and start a conversation, it is your way to start your questions about my friend, so stop beating around the bush and come to the point." - Rogue deadpanned._

_He made her gulp nervously, but he'd already known her purpose so no need to be wordy._

_"Right. Sooo… Can I ask you something about… the girl who…"_

_"Blondie?" - Rogue didn't wait for her to finish._

_"Ye…yeah" - She stuttered. Rogue glanced at her. _

_"Seems like you guys are really close, I've never seen her before, is she the new student?"_

_"Yes, she's our childhood friend, she'd moved to America for 2 years but came back a few weeks ago. We've known one another for almost 10 years"_

_Yukino nodded, her mouth made an O shape. _So she's not Sting's girlfriend.

_"So…uhm… Does Sting... have any... special relationship with her or something... " - That… was her delicate way to ask him "Does Sting like her or not?".Rogue inwardly scoffed. He raised an eyebrow at her._

_"What kind of question is that? I just said she's our childhood friend, his childhood friend and as far as I can see, you and the whole school have already known how close they are, isn't that enough special for you" - Yukino gulped and looked at the ground._

_"That's not what I mean." She frowned. _

_"I know what you mean, but let me tell you something, that's Sting's business, not mine, don't take me for a gossiper and come ask me anything just because you want to. Go ask him yourself or just see for yourself." - He paid the bill then walked away, leave her speechless. She groaned then mumbled._

_"I just asked you a question, you don't have to be so rude like that"._

_**[End of flashback]**_

* * *

She put on her best smile then extended her hand at Lucy.

"Hi, I'm Yukino Aguria from S1, nice to meet you, you're the new student right?"

Lucy smiled back at her.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Lucy Hea… I mean Lucy Love, from F1."

Yukino's eyes widened. _Lucy Love, the first – rate student since the quality exam. A… Fairy. Yeah right, like the badge on her sweater wasn't obviously enough for you, Yuki._

Lucy looked at her quizzically.

"Yukino, are you alright?" - She said.

"Yeah… I'm... I'm fine". Yukino snapped out of her thought, she smiled.

"I'm just a little surprise, your marks in quality exam was really impressive" - Lucy laughed lightly and scratched her head - "Thanks".

"So… you're childhood friend with Rogue and Sting? I've seen you guys quite frequently."

"Yeah, how do you know? Oh, you're from their class, right?" Yukino nodded then answered her.

"Rogue told me so, although… he was… kinda harsh when I asked him." - She mumbled.

Lucy stared at her. _Harsh? Rogue? Huhmm… Yeah …He could be really harsh and rude sometimes, it's been a long time since I last saw him like that._

__To her, Rogue was always tender and sweet, he never said something bad to her or spoke loudly to her.

"Well, he's like that to everyone but he's really nice and sweet when you get to know him." - Lucy smiled while Yukino made a face.

"I never really thought Rogue, nice and sweet could be in the same sentence."

That made Lucy giggled - "No, I mean it, he's really nice, just try to get know him."

Yukino just nodded. _Not when he doesn't like it. _She thought, she was about to ask Lucy about Sting and her but was cut off by the bell.

"Well, nice to meet you, it's like chit-chat has to wait for another time" - She waved at Lucy and walked back to her class. Lucy waved back and smiled.

_She's really nice, I have to tell Erza and Gray about her, not everyone in Sabertooth are bad or dangerous like they said. _

Yes, she had heard that Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were some kind of rivals, some of her friends also said that she shouldn't be friend with Sting and Rogue. Lucy told them that they're her childhood friends and she found that the reason why a Fairy and a Tiger couldn't be friends was totally stupid. She shook her head slightly then got back to her classroom.

* * *

"Don't you think Tenrou Island is a little small for Fiore Academy to have an extracurricular trip?" - Gray asked, his arms behind his head. Gildart sensei had announced that senior high schoolers of Fiore would have a periodic extracurricular trip to Tenrou Island, Shiren Island and Mcgore Island and everybody was really excited about this.

"Were you even listening to him? Not the whole Fiore will be there, we'll split up. Fairy Tail and Sabertooth will go to Tenrou while Blue Pegasus and Mermaid Heel will go to Shiren, and regular students will be at Mcgore" - Lucy said and Erza nodded in approval.

The sun was setting down, people had already gone home or their dorms, and because they were on duty so the three of them were the only ones left on the campus… or so they thought.

"Hey is that Rogue?" - Gray squinted at a boy with raven hair and… "A girl?" - Lucy knitted her eyebrows to take a better look.

"Yeah, it's Rogue, what's he doing?" - She asked, more to herself than her friends

"You wanna talk to him or let him be?" - Erza looked at Lucy, she thought for a moment then nodded.

"You guys go first, I'll see you tomorrow." - She smiled

"Okay, bye, be careful." - She waved to her friends and they nodded back.

She ran up to Rogue but halted when she realized the girl was crying. _Rogue is making a girl cry. _

"What the…?" - Her eyes widened, still trying to figure out what was happening when Rogue caught her eyes. He immediately walked pass the girl, not even spared her another glance, and moved toward Lucy, dragging her away. Lucy looked back at the girl and blinked at him then frowned.

"Rogue? What did you do? Why is she crying?" - She looked back at the girl again, she didn't like seeing other people cry. Rogue let go of her arm to hold her wrist, not answering her question.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home an hour ago? - He asked back

"I stay at the dorm, you know. Rogue, answer me, what did you do?" - She glared at him but he ignored it.

"I didn't do anything, I just sent her Sting's message."

Lucy's face scrunched in confusion.

"What message?"

"Sting doesn't want to date her anymore."

"WHAT?" Her jaw dropped.

"He doesn't want to date her anymore so he told you to send her a message? What are you? His hireling or something?" - She frowned harder.

"Something like that." - He deadpanned

Lucy sweatdropped then facepalmed.

"Why didn't he do it by himself?"

"He didn't like seeing girls cry so we made a deal, I'll tell them what he wanted me to tell them, and he'll do all the household choir for 2 days straight, even cooking." - Lucy stared at him blankly then sighed and shook her head at him in disapproval.

"Well at least you should have comforted her a little bit, not just walked away coldly like that. I didn't hear your conversation with her, but I could guess that your emotionless face when you told her that you have a message from Sting, was enough to make her cry endlessly."

Rogue wanted to chuckle at that but he knew Lucy was serious so he only shrugged.

Lucy waited for him to respond but didn't get any. She wondered how many girls had got broken hearts because of Sting. She suddenly felt…afraid. She didn't know why but that info gave her an insecure feeling. She didn't like that feeling, not – one – bit. And in the wink of an eye, she swore that she saw herself standing in front of Rogue, heard him saying that she was out of Sting's interesting list. Lucy inwardly slapped her face.

_What the hell was I thinking? We're friends, best friends, childhood friends, he would never do that to me... would he?_

She shook her head to clear her thought then looked back at Rogue and raised an eyebrow.

"You should stop doing that for him, you know. That's his own mess and he should resolve it himself, he still have to study, so stop that deal."

Rogue looked at her and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately. He looked back at the street, thinking about something then nodded.

* * *

**[Present]**

Lucy walked across the school yard, deep in thought. Erza was saying something to Gray and he shriveled up in fear, Levi and Gajeel had joint them a moment ago, they were laughing with each other. Lucy didn't hear anything, just stared into space like that but then caught a glimpse of brown.

_She's still crying. _

The girl she comforted on the rooftop was still crying, she sat under the sakura tree – Lucy's favorite place, her friends surrounded her and when they spotted Lucy, they glared at her fiercely . Lucy just looked at the girl with her soft eyes. They had every right to be mad at her. She was Sting's best friend and the one who indirectly broke their friend's heart.

Yes, people had already known that she's Sting childhood friend (along with Rogue), she didn't know how, last day they were mumbling to one another about something sounded like love triangle, love potion, arranged marry, slut, pregnant …etc … And the moments later, they looked at them with admirable eyes and mumbling something about best friend forever, eternally friendship…etc.

_What ever._ She inwardly rolled her eyes.

A few days ago, she told Rogue to stop doing that (broke up with those girl on behalf of Sting), and he should have told them himself but she didn't expect that she was the one who replaced Rogue, breaking girls' hearts because of Sting.

Sting was still mad at her back then so he wanted her to make it up to him by doing Rogue's job when Rogue listened to her advice (more like command). She didn't want to do that and said that she didn't care whether he's still mad at her or not, but… agreed gradually because she wanted to be there to comfort those girls, she felt sorry for them when they decided to involve their love lifes with Sting, and Rogue's expressionless face as well as Sting's caddish face would make the situation only worse.

At first, she didn't think much about that, she knew that it was only natural when people cried or hurt because their relationship didn't work out. People dated then broke up, dated then broke up and the circle would never end until they found their true soul-mate, not that everyone could find their true love at their first try. When this door led to happiness was closed... you would just have to find another one.

_But that was when they were truly in a relationship, when two people actually love each other. The girls? They maybe love him, like him, whatever but... Sting? Absolutely not. _That's so wrong in Lucy's opinion.

_He's never cared about girls before, I saw them fancied him in junior high school, but he didn't care and he didn't date them just to broke up with them a few days later. _

Lucy was more mature than she looked, she understood how hurt it was to have a broken heart, not that she got one before. Sting and Rogue were very protective of her (not including Erza and Gray) and if they didn't approve any of those guys that she mentioned, they would never got a chance with her (and vice versa).

_Anyway, perhaps I should talk to him about this. _

* * *

**[Later, at Sting's house]**

"Lucy? Is something wrong? You're quiet than usual." – Rogue asked, he stroked her cheek tenderly with the back of his hand. She had sent them a message that she wanted to have dinner at their house so here they were, sitting on the same table, same room, same house and having same dinner, but Rogue could feel that she had something else on her mind. Both Sting and her were. She smiled at him a little and shook her head.

"I'm fine Rogue, just thinking." - She glanced at Sting and Rogue caught that. Sting was busy eating like a pig to even notice her and Rogue, but Rogue could see through him. His mind was somewhere else too. He wouldn't let Lucy out of his sight when she was around, and the fact that he didn't notice Lucy's thoughtless look or her unusual quiet proved that he was also having some mentally trouble.

"I'll go buy some tea, you guys go eat first." - He patted Lucy's head and left. Lucy knew that was his way to let her have some private moment with Sting and she appreciated that. Rogue always knew what she wanted and needed. _Not like someone else. _She inwardly scoffed.

She started when she heard Rogue closed the door.

"You should stop doing that Sting." - Lucy said quietly, she knew that he knew what exactly she was talking about.

"You never had the problem with me eating like this before." - Sting said innocently.

Yes, he knew that she was mad at him because he made her his rescuer when he needed to break up with some girls. Sting dated… a bunch of girls at a same time so when he told her to send his messages to those girls, it was actually too many that Lucy thought that she'd done this a hundred times before. She glared at him but he didn't look at her in the eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me, you know that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what? What are you talking about? I don't know what's you're talking about." - Sting continued to beat around the bush, he didn't know why but he got a bad feeling about this conversation. Lucy bid her bottom lips and narrowed her eyes, she clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to calm down.

"I'm talking about those girls whom you just kept breaking up with after a few dates." - She gritted her teeth.

"It's funny when you said that because you're the one who told them so..."

He chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood but to no avail, that… actually made the situation worse. Lucy was serious but his unconcerned attitude was getting on her nerves. Lucy slammed her hand down on the table and glared at him. Sting shut up immediately but gave her an uninteresting look.

"You think this is funny? What are trying to prove, Sting? That's you're the biggest playboy in Fiore, and you can have every the single girl that you want, whenever and wherever you are because nobody can resist your charm? Toying with other people's feeling is not something that you should be proud of."

Sting didn't answer that and they were having a staring contest. He was being torn between keep his mouth shut and tell her why he just kept dating then breaking up. He said firmly but kept his eyes contact with her.

"I am not the one who proud of something like that, Lucy" - His jaw clenched.

"Do I really look like some kind of scum, jerk or asshole, whatever the hell it is to you that you must think of me like that." - He gave Lucy a stern look but she didn't back off.

"You look at those girls, all tears and sobbing and whining then you jumped to the conclusion that I was a jerk, I thought you know me better than that."

Lucy dragged a half – smile out of her lips, her tone full of sarcasm - "Well then please, enlighten me Sting Eucliffe".

He sighed, maybe it wouldn't hurt if he just gave her a little info, so he took a deep breath.

"The reason why I just kept dating and breaking up with them is because…. I'm trying to find the one... who could make me feel the same way as… she… makes… me…feel." - He hesitated, Lucy was a smart girl, that's why he didn't want to tell her, she could put two with two then his feeling could be exposed sooner or later.

Lucy didn't say anything, she unconsciously gulped, her lips parted and her eyes darkened, she looked at the ground. _That means… _

Out of the corner of his eyes, Sting noticed her reaction and he was panicking inside but tried to keep calm outside.

"So… That's because of one girl?" - Her voice barely audible. - "Who?" - She looked back at him, kept her face emotionless.

Sting inwardly sighed in relief, in a moment he thought that she had found out something, he said nonchalantly.

"I can't tell you." - Lucy frowned.

"Why?"

"I just can't."

He looked away. Sting tried to ignored her dead glare, if look could kill then he would be played with crickets in a hole right that moment.

Lucy thought for a moment then realization hit her, her eyes widened.

"She rejected you?"

Now that was his eyes turn to widened, he made a face but she ignored it.

"Wow, now I really must know what her name is, there is someone in Fiore actually could say no to you when you're the one who make a move?" - She smacked her tongue and shook her head - "Impressive" - She mocked.

Sting put on a scowl and gritted his teeth.

"She did not reject me. She actually doesn't know about my feeling okay?"

She frowned again. - "Why?" - The Sting she knew would make a move when he really liked something.

"Because…" - He sighed again and grabbed his hair - "…I'm not good enough for her okay?" - He threw his hands in the air and leaned back against the chair - "She deserved someone better than me, I'm not pure like her, I'm not innocent like her, I'll taint her with my sin if we-"

"What sin?" - Lucy cut him short when she heard that word. The word 'sin' was something really serious and could not be taken lightly. Sting could commit a sin and she didn't know about that?

"What sin?"

She was getting more and more irritated by the second. She had ton of questions in her mind and no answers Sting gave her could have satisfied her so far.

"Sting, what sin?" - She asked again the third time, more determined when he didn't answer and just looked away.

"I can't tell you that."

"We're friends Sting, we promised that there is no secret between us, remember? Tell me Sting." She said calmly but there was a storm inside of her right now.

"I - can't - tell - you" - Sting gritted his teeth, didn't Lucy ever learn to give it up?

That's was the last straw... for both of them

"ANSWER ME STING, WHAT SIN?" - She yelled at him.

He slammed his hands down on the table, stood up and shouted back - "THAT'S NOT YOUR BUSINESS, THAT HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO AND YOU _DO NOT_ NEED TO KNOW THAT, EVEN FRIENDS HAVE BOUNDARIES AND WHEN I DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING THEN I WON'T, ADAPT IT. KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF MY BUSINESS, HEARTFILIA".

Her eyes widened and she was speechless, she was not the only one who was aggravating. _Did he… really just say that? - _She stared at him blankly, didn't know how to respond, his back was facing her. She closed her mouth, took a deep breath, then nodded and said quietly, her voice broken.

"You're right, that's your business and I have no right to ask. Even best friends, childhood friends or whatever the fuck we are, still have boundaries, sorry if I unintentionally crossed that line just because I care about you."

Sting turned around to look at her and regretted it immediately, her eyes were glistening with water, her cheeks were red and her fists were clenched, he shut his eyes. It pained him to see her like that and it pained him more because he was the reason why she looked like that.

"Luce… I…" He moved to hug her but she quickly grabbed her jacket and ran out-of-door, Sting ran after her but was greeted by Rogue's arm.

"Stay, I'll go after her" - Rogue didn't wait for him to respond and just liked a flash, he rushed along, trying to catch up with Lucy. Sting torn his hair and punched the wall repeatedly.

"DAMN IT".

**End of chapter 5**

* * *

_Choshoku is the usual breakfast in Japan, including rice, raw chicken egg or toss in seaweed Nori and Miso soup._

_Shiren, Mcgore: Yeah I made that up :D :D_

**I want to revolve their problem in one chapter but it's actually kinda long already (_._!) These new chapters just getting longer and longer :D**

**I hoped it's good enough :D Read and review please, tell me what you think :D**

**And thank you again XD Have a good night/day XD I'll see you soon.**


	6. Chapter 6 - That's why I love you

**Hey, good to see you guys again. Pretty fast huh XD That's when I don't have a writer-block, ideas and images were running like crazy through my head and I couldn't stop until I finished it :D**

**First of all, thank you for reading, following and making this your favorite story.**

**And special thanks to Sakamaki Hikaru** (chap 1 & 3), **Twerking Pandah** (chap 3), **Zin-chan-luvs-you** (chap 3), **AnimexXxluvver** (chap 3 &5), **SimplyIsabelleS** (chap 4 and 5/ AN: Yeah I agreed with you =]]), **Slenderkatt** (chap 4), **Lucy Queen of the Stars** (chap 1 and 5), **Shar2242** (chap 2 and 5)** for reviewing :D **

**I felt kinda uneasy when I didn't thank you all personally :D And especially thanks to Psyka, thank you for reviewing all of my chapters so far :3  
**

**In the last chapter, I found out some grammar errors and a gap. The scene when Lucy saw Rogue talked to a girl and he later asked her "Should you be at home an hour ago?" and dragged her to the gate, I forgot that Lucy stayed at the dorm. I fixed it and so sorry for the mistakes :( **

**Anyway, about this chapter, nothing much, just something fluffy, I'm not very good with fluffy or romantic so I hope it won't turn out suck to you guys :D**

**English is not my mother language so I'm sorry for the mistakes I made (again), I'll try fix it if I find them when I re-read. **

**The song I used in this chapter was Best In Me by Blue (just two sentences). Such a heart-warming song, I listened to it when I wrote the end of this chapter :D :D It was really inspiring.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. (or DeathNote)**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 6 - That's why I love you  
**

"LUCY ... LUCY ... WAIT". Rogue shouted to make Lucy stop but she didn't hear him. He ran up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Lucy wait ... Lucy I'm sorry, Sting was just angry, he didn't mean it like that you know". Lucy's face was all red and traces of tears flowed down her cheeks. She yanked her arm away from his grasp and turned her back to him. She mumbled between her sob.

"I don't need you to apologize to me on his behalf".

"Lucy ..." He moved closer to her.

Lucy stood motionless for a minute then narrowed her eyes at him. Rogue blinked in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't know you have the habit to eavesdrop on people's conversation, Rogue".

He chuckled then pulled out his handkerchief to clean her face.

"I didn't, you guys talked too loud and your voices were in my hearing range".

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"How much did you hear?"

"Everything"

"So you lied about going out to buy something?"

"Yeah, but you'd already known that".

Lucy shook her head

"Real smooth huh?"

"That's a gift". He smirked and she snickered.

Rogue was not the one who usually eavesdrop on people conversation but he made an exception when it involved Lucy or Sting, he had his own reason anyway. He smiled at her a bit.

"You know Sting right? He's an idiot and idiots speak before they think".

He stroked one of her cheeks then pinched it, made her pouted at him. It's not like she didn't know that, people always thought that he was cool and calm but the truth was exact opposite, he was really bad – temper. It was just, hearing him saying those words was really heart – broken, he talked to her like she was some strangers and he had never furious at her like that before. Guess that she was a bit shock.

"You know what he was talking about right? Some … sin?"

Rogue nodded. Lucy looked at the ground, her bang hide her eyes. _Rogue know about that too? How serious was it that they both know and don't want to tell me about it. _Rogue just stared at her, he didn't know what he should say to her and she seemed like was having a soliloquy, he wondered what was she thinking.

"Lucy …" He spoke softly to attract her attention, she lifted her head to look at him with her big eyes and he had to look away after a moment or else he would have been drown in those chocolate-brown orbs – a sweet death might he add.

"… I really want to tell you what happened because I know that you're the only one who could help him but ... I can't, Sting has to tell you by himself. It's really important to Sting and he couldn't just easily spit it out like that. Give him sometimes. " He said gently.

She sniffed then wiped her nose with her index finger like a three year-old kid. Rogue smiled.

_I guess he's right, Rogue always know what I should do. _She sometimes sought advice from Rogue when she was kid and was in trouble. He would always know what she should do and shouldn't do, that's why she lov *cough* trusted him.

_Maybe I was a little bit nosy and crossed the line. Does he mad at me? Probably. _She gulped and whispered.

"Rogue, should I go back and apologize to him now or should I wait for him to calm down?". She didn't want Sting to be enraged with her.

_Should she? _Rogue smiled again then thought for a minute. That perhaps was both their fault, one was too impatient to wait for a proper answer when one was too hot – tempered and too stupid to have an appropriate explanation. Maybe he should punish them both. _Huhmm … no, maybe just Sting, he made her cry after all._ That was on the top of Rogue's black list (and like he had the gut to punish her).

"You know what? Just ignored him for a few days, he's probably livid at you .. no no no … don't cry, don't cry". He coaxed when he saw her eyes were full of tears again.

"It's my fault". She whined and began to cry loudly. People who passed by the couple just shook their head at him in disapproval or gave him disappointing look. That actually didn't embarrass him at all, he laughed lightly and hugged her, patted her head.

"C'mon, you're making look bad you know".

"Like you care about it" - He heard her muttered between her sob and he chuckled. _True. _

"Let me talk to him. I'll tell you when it's safe to talk to him. He just need some times to chill out, everything will be fine, I promise". He kissed her hair and wiped her face again but her tears wouldn't stop.

"You're ugly when you cry so stop it". She pouted and punched his chest playfully, made him snicker. He lied, she looked beautiful with whatever expression she had but he didn't want to see her like that, he wanted to see her smile, she was more beautiful when she smiled.

"Nobody looks beautiful when they cry you idiot". She frowned, tried to look like she was angry but her eyes betrayed her face. She gave him a squeeze of the hand and smiled sweetly at him. Her smile made his heart flipped in the air.

"Thank you".

"You're welcome". He smiled back. "Now let's go, I'll get to back to your dorm"

And with that, they walked back to Fiore Academy in the light of street's lamps and buildings, hand in hand.

* * *

Sting's eyes snapped open when he heard Rogue's step. He got up from the couch and gulped.

"How was she? Does she mad at me?"

Rogue stared at him and raised an eyebrow. He gave him a look that said "Did you just really ask that?".

"Of course she doesn't mad at you, not – one – bit." He mocked and plopped himself on the opposite couch.

"Your sense of humor sucks"

He mumbled, looked at the ground guiltily. _Look like it would take a lot of ice-cream this time._

Rogue cleared his throat. _Show time. _And started his punishment.

"She cried a lot"

True. Sting shut his eyes

"Sobbing" – True. He gulped

"Whining" – Also true. He frowned. The image brought aching to his heart.

"She said her heart was broken because of your words". Rogue poured himself a cup of tea and took a look at Sting's miserable face.

_I know. _Sting thought.

"She couldn't believe someone she's really care about could say something like that to her." Rogue continued, every sentence he said was like rock that weighted down on Sting's shoulders

"She said that she doesn't wanna talk to you" – not true, but surely Sting didn't need to know that. His eyes widened, fear crept through his heart.

_She… doesn't wanna talk to me? _

"For the rest of her life"

Rogue deadpanned than lied down on the couch with a thud. Sting started to breathe rapidly. _Okay calm down, calm down. She didn't mean that. She just said that because she's angry. Rogue might have defended me... Right? _He looked back at Rogue and hesitated.

"Wha … what did … you say then?" He hoped that Rogue had at least defended him.

Rogue was quiet for a minute and Sting felt like he was waiting to see whether the Death Note had his name in it or not.

"I said yeah, he was a jerk and he deserved it … blah blah blah, I kissed her good night and walked her back to her dorm". He closed his eyes and said in one breath.

Sting's jaw dropped and he cried out loud.

"YOU WHAT?" He couldn't believe it his best friend could treat him like that.

"You actually said that ? What the hell was wrong with you? Was you even my friend? You could have at least apologized to her for me" He grabbed his hair and groaned. Rogue just shrugged.

"It's your fault for being stupid. And why should I do that for you? _You _should be the one who apologize to her, not me".

_Is it me or Rogue has just decided to become stupid?_

"Well. … true .. but you could have at least calm her down a little bit before I give her an appropriate apology." He grunted and glared at him. Rogue was quiet again, pretending like he was thinking about something then nodded.

"Huhmm…. Yeah, should have thought about it sooner". *sweatdrop*

"Why the hell did you tell me to stay at home and came after her when you could do something like that to me?". Sting gritted his teeth.

"Because I wanted to make you life more miserable?" That's a statement. Rogue smirked.

Sting sweatdropped and facepalm again._ Rogue you asshole. Okay, everything's gonna be alright. I'm gonna fix it. _

Rogue peeked through one eye, looking at his friend who was pacing back and forth, mouthing something to himself. His lips' corner turned up. _Serves you right. _

* * *

Sting was leaning against the wall of F1 class. He waited patiently for the school bell to ring so he could see Lucy. She had avoided him for almost haft a week and he would practically go crazy if he didn't meet her in … 5 more minutes. He wanted to text her but he couldn't find his phone anywhere, he doubted Rogue had something to do with it because Rogue just wouldn't lend him his, told him to find his cell phone by himself.

He looked at his watch then sighed again. His reputation would be ruined if they knew he as far as came to Fairy Tail – Sabertooth's biggest rival to apologize to a girl.

_Screw them, why do I even care, I hurt her and now I have to fix it. _

He had let the anger took the better of him, she just cared about him and wanted to know what happened, he perhaps was annoying by her interrogation but that didn't mean he had to utter those painful words to her like that. He thought that she would chill out soon and he could meet her and talk to her but apparently he couldn't even see her to say that. He couldn't be alone with her for a minute without her friends blocking his way and glaring deadly at him.

_Those stupid Fairies (sorry Luce). _

She ignored him, avoided him but still texted with Rogue. _That frosty bastard. _He thought annoyingly, yes he was jealous a little, just … a little … okay a lot. Rogue didn't do anything to help him but just kept making his life more miserable by mentioning how she had cried, heart – broken, her face looked painful ... etc … and chose to reply her messages every time Sting was around.

The guilty feeling kept crushing his heart until he couldn't take it anymore, so he skipped class to wait in front for her. She won't leave this class if she doesn't talk to him and that's final.

*Rrrrriiiiinnnng…. Rrriiinnngggg* _Finally. _

He exhaled then held himself erect. The classroom door opened, Fairies started to leave. Sting hid behind a corner and looked for Lucy so not many Fairies would notice him, he started to walk in to find her when he didn't see her coming out but halted when he saw a boy with black hair and … shirtless, standing in front of him. Gray narrowed his eyes and Sting did the same thing.

"Look who's here … Sting Eucliffe, what are you doing here? Looking for some fights?" He said and crossed his arms.

Neither of them moved or spoke, Sting just smirked.

"You know stripper, if today was just like any other day, I would have beaten your shitty face into a pulp but sorry, I have something more important to do right now." He looked over Gray's shoulder and found Lucy, a blue hair girl as well as a red hair girl were talking to their teacher. They surrounded his table, their backs faced him. He looked back at Gray and saw him raised an eyebrow.

"Sting Eucliffe has something better to do than fight? Woa, the sun must have risen at the west." Gray mocked.

He didn't hate the guy but he didn't like him either, not just because he's from Sabertooth, what happened in the past between_ pinky_ and him but also because ... he's Lucy's childhood friend. Okay that sounded pretty stupid but he couldn't help it.

"Whatever, out of my way" – Sting glared at him but Gray just glared back, he moved forward and closed the door, blocked them out of his teacher and friends' sight.

"I don't think so, _you _made _her _cry. Therefore, I won't allow you to come near her when I'm around.". Yes, he knew what happened between them, she told them the night when she came back from Sting's house. Another stupid reason but ... again he couldn't help it.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

_He, Erza, Levi and Gajeel decided to go back to Lucy's room so they could chit-chat or played something fun together after they had dinner at the canteen but Lucy was not there yet so they waited. Lucy came back in about 20 minutes and she almost jumped out of her skin when she saw them._

_"Geeze, you guys scared me to death, I thought some pervert burglars broke into my room to steal my underwear". She tried to joke but they didn't budge a muscle. They just stared at her, Erza spoke slowly but surely._

_"Why did you cry?" _

_"I .. did not" She stuttered and looked away to hide her face with her hair.  
_

_"Your face and eyes are red and your voice sounds like your nose is stuffed up. You cried". Gray added. _

Gosh, why is he suddenly smart like that?. _Lucy inwardly rolled her eyes._

_She gulped, didn't expect to see them at her room, they knew she cried so no need to hide her face anymore. She looked back at them, moved to sit on the couch, between Erza and Gray, Levi and Gajeel sat the opposite._

_"Don't worry I'm fine, it's just some … stuff happened, it doesn't really matter"._

_"You got a 5 on your 15 minutes exam?" – Levi asked gently and Lucy snickered. They inwardly sighed in relief, Lucy's still okay. _

_"No Levi, I got a 10, that's not the problem"._

_"Some idiot dumped you? I thought it had to be the other way around. But don't worry bunny girl, that's life" - Gajeel said casually, didn't wait for her to utter a word_

_"I haven't got a boyfriend yet Gajeel" - Lucy frowned._

_"Then what's the problem, Luce?" Erza said calmly but firmly. Erza was emitting a deadly aura and she knew better than lied to her._

_"Well … uhm… you see me and … my friend …We fell out …"_

_..._

_ She discontinued at that. They stared at her with blankly expressions_

_"That's it?" _

_"Yeah .."_

_"You're lying"_

_"No I'm not"_

_"That didn't sound so bad"_

_"Well … yeah…" - She was getting more and more uncomfortable but Erza wouldn't let it go that easily_

_"You're lying" - Now she started to get annoying._

_"And why the hell am I?"_

_"Because if that's all, you wouldn't have cried. It must have been something really bad to make you cry like that. What happened?" _

_"Can't tell you, it's private" - She mumbled. Erza thought for a minute._

_"Was that because of Sting?" - That's the only one she could think of that had the gut to make Lucy cry. Lucy didn't answer and that confirmed Erza's theory. _

_"Figure" - She said and they nodded in approval._

_"What?"_

_"That's all we need to know." And with that, they ended the conversation, Lucy said that it was private so no more questions. They then talked for a bit and watched TV then studied together. They actually helped Lucy get Sting out of her mind for while.  
_

**[End of Flashback]**

* * *

Gray cared deeply about Lucy and always wanted to see her smile. She's a sweet girl, kind heart and funny, smart and mature. Who didn't want to see her smile? Surely not Gray.

Sting sneered at him.

"What are you? Her guard dog or something? But anyway I don't care. Stay out of my way or I'll make you."

"Gladly". Gray jerked up his chin in challenge. Sting scowled, clenching his fists, he really wanted to punch his face right then and there but he didn't want to make Lucy more angry at him so he chose the safer choice, he moved to walked pass him but Gray just kept blocking his way. A vein popped on his forehead and he gritted his teeth.

"Out – of – my – way"

"Ooh, loosing your cool eh Eucliffe? C'mon, show me what you got." Gray provoked him, he knew Lucy would get mad if she found out but he didn't care, they would make up anyway. Sting moved again and again, Gray blocked his way. Now that was the last straw, if this guy wanted to fight, Sting would give him exactly what he wanted.

"You asked for it" and just like a flash, he threw a punch right at Gray's face. Gray stumbled but regained his balance and struck back. ...

* * *

"Okay, I'm busy on Friday morning so I'm gonna be late a bit, I want you three to gather your classmates, check the list for necessary things, stabilize those idiots and report to me when I get there, all right?" Gildart sensei stated calmly. Seniors of Fiore would have an extracurricular this weekend but he was gonna be late so he had to make some careful recommendations to Lucy, Erza and Levi. Those three were his most trustful pupils, Gajeel was still dozed off since the beginning of the last period, Levi would wake him up when they finished.

"Masters had come back from their meeting so they're gonna be there also". Fairy Tail and Sabertooth only had this kind of tension 2 years ago. Makarov and Jiemma wanted to take full advantage of this trip to make 2 guilds to be in agreement. The disagreement between them had caused so much trouble already.

"Keep Fairies away from Tigers if something bad happened okay?"

They nodded.

"Okay, now tell me if …."

He didn't have time to finish his sentence when shouting and yelling filled the corridor. He frowned and moved to open to door to see what was going on. And the sight was not very decent to him.

Lucy and Levi gasped, Erza's eyes widened. Gray and Sting were wrestling and throwing punches at each other, some guys tried to stop them but to no avail, they just kept trying to rush at each other to give the other some pieces of their mind. Blood, scratches and contusions were all over their faces. Gildart shouted but they didn't hear him.

"STING" – Lucy yelled and Sting stopped to look at her, he could recognize her voice anywhere. He took a full blow from Gray and lost his balance. Gildart rushed at them to stop Gray.

"ENOUGH". - His voice echoed through corridor. Lucy rushed at Sting who was still on the ground, panting. She knitted her eyebrows in worry.

"Sting, are you okay?" - Sting nodded but didn't look at her in the eyes. It hurt her to see his face like that. She tried to take a look at his eyes but he avoided it.

"Sting …" - Lucy said but Gildart cut her off

"My office, now" - He said firmly, left no room for argument but Lucy still spoke up.

"Sensei, shouldn't they go to infirmary first?" - She helped Sting to stand up and looked at Gildart again.

"They're not dead Lucy, they could to anywhere they need to go when I'm finish with them" . And with that, two boys moved to Gildart's office, still glaring at each other.

Lucy sighed. _Boys. _

* * *

Lucy and Erza were waiting outside of their teacher's office. They had told Levi and Gajeel to go back to their dorm and said that Gray would be okay.

"He must have come to see you, I wonder what happened, Gray wouldn't fight someone for no reason" – Said Erza.

"Neither would Sting" – Lucy defended him, she frowned in annoyance. _Why they always thinking something that bad about Sting? _

"Are you sure?" - Erza asked her in tense tone. Lucy narrowed her eyes at Erza, she didn't care how scary Erza was at that moment, she gritted her teeth.

"Will you ever stop doubting my friend, he's not a bad person"

"He made you cry and fought with Gray, sure he's not a bad person" – Erza didn't back out, she wanted to beat him black and blue when she saw Lucy came back with her red eyes and now came this incident.

Lucy clenched her fists.

"It was just a misunderstanding, Erza" - She sighed again and softened her tone.

She was loosing her patient but she wouldn't let another fight break out again between her and Erza. One was enough. She tried to calm herself down. _Happy thought happy thought happy thought._

Erza knew she was pushing Lucy's button so she stopped and said gently.

"Sorry, I'm just worry about you, I don't want him to bring you any harm".

Lucy smiled a bit and exhaled.

"I know, thank you but believe me he won't, you just think that because you don't know him well enough." Erza nodded. She really hoped so.

The door opened and there came out two boys. The girls rushed at them and immediately stood between them.

"Gray are you okay?" Lucy tilted her head to look at him. He nodded and smiled tenderly at her. Sting narrowed his eyes and scowled. _Tsk…_

"Yeah, I'm fine. I have to write a report to him and sweep the class on my own for 2 week. It's the first time so he won't report to Masters". She sighed in relief. Erza smacked the back of his head and glared at him.

"Maybe I should tell him to intensify your punishment, I don't think that was enough". She said then quickly dragged him away to take him to the infirmary. They bid Lucy goodbye and Lucy said she would come see them when she finished with Sting. She turned around but Sting had already started to walk away. She frowned.

"Sting, go to the infirmary"

"Don't wanna" - He mumbled. She grabbed his arm. _Maybe he's still mad at me ... Then why was he here?_

"Then go back to my dorm, I'll treat your wound" - She didn't wait for his answer, just took him off her room.

Sting didn't say anything, he came to apologize but ended up fighting with her friend and made her worry when she was still mad at him. He felt kinda ashamed about that.

Sting was in Fairy Tail's territory so people just kept glaring at him when he passed by. He rolled his eyes.

Lucy unlocked the door and pushed him in her room, made him said on the couch then rushed to kitchen to take the medical kit.

He looked around the room, it was really nice and big enough for 4 people. _Must be her father._ He inhaled, it smelled just like her. _Magnolia and sunshine. My favorite scent._He thought and turned to look at the wall which full with pictures. _Pictures of us. _

On the center wall of the room, pictures of him, Lucy and Rogue along with Lucy's family and her other friends were all over it. He smiled, those pictures represented their beautiful memories, they reminded him of how he felt in love with her.

He didn't know exactly when, he just looked at her eyes and found himself being sank in their depth, heard her laugh and felt like it was her unique melody that he would never be able to forget, touched her hand and felt the electricity shot through his body or looked at her sweet smile and felt his heart raced hundred miles an hour. That when he found out that he had felt for her, hard.

He wondered if she would ever have that same feeling for him. He wanted to be with her but he was so scared of his past, he afraid that she wouldn't ever look at him again if she found out. Not that he didn't trust her, he knew her and trusted her with his life but he didn't want to take the risk of loosing her forever, so he tried to hide his dark past, as long as possible. He perhaps couldn't be her soul mate, her lover, she probably never knew about his feeling and he probably could never bring her the happiness that she deserved although deep down inside, he believed that he was the only one who could do that. Just standing by her side and knew that he had a small place in her heart was enough for him. Yeah, he could live with that.

Lucy came back with the medical kit and pulled him to sit back down on the couch. She began to treat his wound in silence.

_I wondered if she's/he's still mad at me. _They thought at the same time. Minutes passed by and Sting couldn't take it anymore.

"You're not gonna ask?"

"Ask what?" Lucy lifted her head to look at him, hands still working on his wound.

"About the fight?" He said quietly. Lucy glanced at him and smiled

"I've learned my lesson, you'll tell me when you want to, I'm sure you had your reason." Sting stared at her. _Lesson? _

"He provoked me, I wanted to see you but he wouldn't let m ... OW ... that's hurt" - He grunted and she snickered. _Such a baby._

"Sting …" She said in serious tone, Sting froze and suddenly felt nervous. Lucy sensed his tense and couldn't help but chuckling.

"Relax, I'm not gonna eat you or anything." - She joked.

"Sting, don't said anything, just … let me finish okay?". She mumbled and he nodded.

"I'm so sorry about that night Sting". She said and looked at his eyes.

Sting was stunned, he didn't expect her to apologize first. _She didn't mad at me?._

"You were right … you had the right to hide something from me and I don't have the right to ask you about something that you don't want to talk about". She said quietly, her eyes began to water again. _S__tupid Lucy, you're such a drama queen. _

Sting opened his mouth to protest but she put her fingers on his lips to keep him silent. He unconsciously gulped.

" … I always want to know everything that happen in your life, so I can help you, comfort you, to do something or anything to help you because you're very special to me …." She muttered the last part, bandaging his knuckle and blinking her eyes to hold back tears.

"… You're my ... friend Sting, and I won't be able to help you if you don't let me know what happened…." She lifted her head to look at his eyes, her voice barely audible but Sting still heard her clearly. They both felt their hearts ache at the word 'friend' but tried to push it behind their mind. She caressed his cheek softly and he leaned in her touch, keeping their eyes-contact. Her eyes were like an open book, he could see every emotion that flashed through them: regret, sadness … affection, … love? … His heart began to beat loudly and he wondered if she could hear the sound echoed in his mind,_ thud, thud, thud._

"But … when I thought about it more carefully, I realized that you had never hid anything from me before ... except that sin you was talking about and I understand now that ... it was something very … very deep ... and it won't be easy for you to talk about it when you're not ready." Her eyes were blur and a trace of tear flew down her cheek, Sting wiped it away gently with his thumb.

_Why are you crying Luce?_ She asked herself but she felt like his voice was whispering through her ear and asking her the same thing.

"Even if everybody in this world turned their backs to you … I will always stay by your side, no matter what will happen, no matter how mortal your sin was, I won't judge you so ... don't be scare Sting, I'll wait … I'll wait until you're ready to tell me". She put her forehead against his and smiled thoughtfully through her tears.

"Can you promise me that, promise that you'll tell me when you're ready?" She whispered. Sting closed his eyes and listened to her breathing rate, she left him completely speechless. Warmth spread through his heart. He opened his eyes and smiled tenderly at her.

Now he knew why he loved her, he heard they said that you wouldn't be able to know why you loved somebody but ... he knew, he finally knew why.

She kissed the corner of his lips, her lips lingered there, long enough to pass all of her emotion to him. _They felt so soft and … so close to mine. _

Their hearts were like having the same rhythm, and they were beating wildly. He tucked a stray of her hair behind her ear and answered her quietly, like he was afraid that the moment would be broken if he spoke too loud, a tint of pink spread on his cheeks.

"I promised"

Sting pulled her in a tight hug and she embraced his torso, buried her face in the crook of his head. He could felt her smile through his skin and he smiled back. He stroked her hair and murmured.

"Thank you".

They stayed in each other arms just like that, wishing that time could stop so they wouldn't lose this feeling, this warmth. A pleasant melody echoed clearly from the radio of someone's room.

_'Cos you bring out the best in me, like no-one else can do  
That's why I'm by your side, and that's why I love you_

**End of chapter 6**

* * *

***Pheww~* Finally. I'm turning Sting into an idiot, too idiot for his own good maybe? That make me kinda worry -_- Maybe I should make him less stupid =]]  
**

**I'm sorry if I made so many mistakes (again) (hope that there aren't any gaps) :D**

**Anyway, thank you for reading **

**Read and review please :D.**


	7. Chapter 7 - One step closer

**Hey guys :D Happy Valentines Day everyone XD **

**Thank you all for reading, following, making this your favorite story :D**

**Special thanks to: Psyka, SimplyIsabelleS **(I know that Sting was pretty smart but I can't help trolling him XD**), AnimexXxLuvver** (Aw thank you so much XD)**, I'm . such . a . geek ** (Here's your new chapter :D) **for reviewing. **

**English is not my mother language, forgive me for the mistake I made :D **

**The song I used was A thousand Years by Christina Perri :D  
**

**Enjoy XD XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 7 - One step closer  
**

Rogue stood outside of Lucy's room, his eyes glued on the ground. Sting had skipped class again and he didn't know where he had gone. He heard some freshmen mumbling about Sting had a fight with Gray Fullbuster at the court, so he came to Fairy Tail building to find him but couldn't see him anywhere.

_Lucy must have known, maybe …_

He thought then went to Lucy's dorm. Rogue was about to knock but halted when he heard Lucy and Sting's voices.  
He leaned against the door to her room, closed his eyes, thinking about something.

He left after a while, a small smile played on his lips.

* * *

Rogue was doing his homework in his room when the door opened and Sting's head sneaked in. He came near Rogue's desk and put a black box with a pair of chopstick on it. Rogue looked at him in question. Sting sat down on the chair nearby.

"Lucy bought you dinner. It's sushi, your favorite".

Rogue smiled when he heard that. He put aside his homework and took the chopsticks. Sting stared at Rogue and Rogue raised an eyebrow. He took a look at Sting's face and smirked.

"Look like Gray did a pretty good job with your face".

_Gray? So that's his name. I think I'll remember it clearly._

"Whatever". He still felt really great after making up and hanging out with Lucy so he would let it slip, for now.

"Someone is happy … Made up with Luce?" Rogue asked and picked up another sushi roll. That actually was a rhetorical question, but Sting didn't know that of course.

"Yeah …" He mumbled and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the whole dramatic incident that had happened. He looked back at Rogue and asked him out of the blue.

"Why did you bug our talk?"

Rogue didn't look at him, surveying those sushi roll then picked another one and put it in his mouth.

_They don't look as pretty as Lucy's though. _He thought then answered Sting by his own questions.

"What? You're annoyed with that?

"No, just curious". He said flatly. Rogue was quiet for a moment then answered swiftly.

"Because of Lucy". Sting turned back to stare at the ceiling then nodded. _Figure. _

"Don't ever do that again". Rogue said coldly but it didn't catch Sting off guard. He nodded again. _I won't._

"How many percent of chance you think I have?" He asked quietly, Rogue stared at him, he clearly didn't expect that.

_Look like someone has changed his mind after all. 99 perhaps? 1 percent that I'm not sure if you can catch the right opportunity seeing that you are an idiot.  
_

"I don't know. You have to find it out yourself". Rogue said nonchalantly then got back to his sushi.

"What should I do Rogue? Am I making a right choice". He hesitated.

"Follow your heart Sting, it knows what's best for you".

_Right. _He got up and left, leaving Rogue alone with his sushi.

* * *

"Okay everybody, get in line, now". Guys and girls from Fairy Tail quickly shut their mouth and stood in line when they heard Erza's voice.

It was Friday and they were gathering in the school yard at 7 AM to get ready to leave. The day for the extracurricular trip was today. Lucy was checking the list of necessary things just like Gildart sensei had told her to, Levi was taking the roll call and Erza was stabilizing law and order among their classmates.

"Cana, put that bottle down, it's 7 in the morning. Gray, put a shirt on, Jet and Droy, stop trying to intimidate Gajeel, that's useless, he can beat you both at the same time …"

"Typical Erza huh?" – Lucy heard someone said and turned to look at him. She smiled at Jella.

"Yeah, I guess that can't be help"

She shook her head. That's probably the reason why Erza was the President of Student Council, she could scare people of. Jella smiled then moved to stand near her, put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Erza turned around and blushed slightly, she became shy all of sudden. Lucy giggled at the couple. Everybody knew Erza had a thing for Jella and vice versa. They just hadn't realized that the other also felt the same way about them yet.

_They're perfect together, it must feel really great when you're in love with someone. _

She wondered how did someone know when they felt in love? Was it like in those romantic novel she usually read, when the female protagonist saw stars and flowers surrounded her true love, saw everything around her darkened and the only one she could see was _him_? That sounded kinda imaginary.

_Maybe I should ask Rogue or Sting.  
_

People were running around the school yard like chickens, yelling and laughing and mumbling. They seemed very excited about the trip. She looked around, tried to find her two childhood friends.

_There they are. They look pretty nervous._ Lucy thought then smiled. _Right, they have travel sickness._

"Okay brats, time to go, follow me".

Gildart said then led the way to their bus. The same went to Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus, regular students would leave later because there were many of them. Org sensei was responsible for Sabertooth, he was their Math and home room teacher, Ichiya sensei was in charge of Blue Pegasus, he was Biotechnology teacher (as we have already known) and Yajime sensei undertook Mermaid Heel, he was their Physics teacher. They began to move really orderly because Masters were there, watching them carefully, especially Master Jiemma, he was very strict when Master Makarov was more laid back, but that didn't mean he was less severe.

"Do you think this trip gonna work with them?" – Makarov asked his friend.

"I hope so, especially Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. They has caused so much trouble already, they have to learn how work together" - Said Jiemma, Makarov nodded.

"We should go too, I'll have my eyes on Fairy Tail and yours on Sabertooth. They'd better not do something funny when we were around".

And with that, they started to leave. Those little devils could turn the whole trip into hell if Masters weren't there.

* * *

After an hour traveled by land and another hour traveled by waterway, they almost reached Tenrou. This trip was only for seniors and on the boat to Tenrou Island, all of the seniors came from F1 as well as S1. There were about 80 students and they were gathering at the deck to listen to Masters' announce.

"Okay, listen carefully kids, this trip is not only your chance to set your foot on Tenrou Island, one of the most beautiful island of Fiore, but it was also the chance to test your knowledge and skills, you're gonna have to work in group. Base yourself on your biological knowledge and the hints that we've given you to find and collect all the specimens we had listed, then find your way to the meeting place in two days."

Makarov finished so that Jiemma could continue.

"It was a circular island so we can find you when you're lost. There are no wild beasts so you won't meet any deadly danger. If something happen and you are in danger in anyway, shoot your signal fire and we will come immediately. This is a small island but it isn't _that _small, there is a very low chance that one group could meet another. This is a practise test, do it carefully. And …" Jiemma hardened his gaze

"I don't want any trouble between teammates of Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. If I see even one sign of scuffle, you will be disciplinary. Do I make myself clear?" All students nodded obediently, there was no doubt that Master would do what he said.

"Now, I will call your name to each group and you're gonna get off the boat, follow your teacher one by one then get start. Each group will start at different place".

...

* * *

**[3 hours later]**

"Erza, are you sure we're on the right way? I remember we've passed this path before" Lucy said in confusion. They had been wandering the forest for 3 hours and Lucy felt that there was something wrong because she just kept seeing some of the scenery again and again.

"What? I thought Gray lead the way?" Erza blinked at her.

"Huh? I follow Rogue" - Gray shook his head in denial and pointed at Rogue

"I come after Lucy" - He said casually.

Silence suddenly filled the air ….

"EEEEHHHHHH …?" They cried out at the same time (except Rogue of course) and Lucy facepalm.

"So nobody knows where we're going" She asked tiredly.

"And we still haven't got any specimens yet" Sting continued.

"Maybe we should get some rest and started again" – Yukino offered and everybody nodded.

Masters had ordered Lucy, Erza, Gray, Sting, Rogue and Yukino to established a group. Sting and Gray were strongly opposed when they had to work in a team but couldn't do anything because it was Masters' decision. Lucy was sure that it had something to do with their fight few days ago. She was so happy that she could be in the same team with all of her friends but she was also worried about the trouble that Sting and Gray could cause.

She didn't mad at Gray for fighting with Sting, she knew he did that because of what Sting had done to her but she also warned him not to do it again or she would have Erza teach him a lesson. He, of course, didn't have anything to protest because Erza was standing front of his desk, glaring deadly at him. She hoped that with her and Erza's presence as well as Rogue's, they would at least stay away from each other.

She was also felt glad that she got a chance to know Yukino better, that's a nice girl and she would love to have a female friend who was from Sabertooth. Rogue and Sting didn't even let her come near their teammates. She really didn't know why people just kept making a fuss about how Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were rivals.

"Lucy, can you tell us what we're gonna to have find again?" Yukino sat down and asked Lucy. She only read it for Rogue a moment ago when Master handed them the paper. She pulled it out and began to read.

"Okay, first is _Andrias Japonicus, _then _ Maca_ca_ Fuscata, Glirulus Japonicus, Euonymus Alatus_, and a leaf from genus _Acer._" She said and Rogue nodded but … everybody else stared at them with strange faces.

"What language are you speaking Lucy?" Sting asked her and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"That organism's name which was written in nomenclature, it's called language of science you idiot". She said and flapped the paper gently in front of his face.

"Well, what does they mean anyway?" Erza butted in.

She thought this was a good chance to see how was the relationship among the trio, she will stop her doubt about them if she sees how much Lucy means to them.

"Right … Take out your pen, note and write it down now" - They started to do what she asked.

"The easiest thing to find at the moment is a leaf from genus _Acer_, it's actually a marble leaf, the second is _Macaca Fuscata _a.k.a Japan money, _Glirulus Japonicus, _it's Japan dormouse, _Euonymus alatus__**, **_it's photogenic shrub and the last is _Andrias japonicus _– a Japan giant salamander " – She said slowly so her friends could write them down carefully. They were gonna have to find then took pictures of them and write a report to their teacher.

"Huhmm… it's not so hard to find right? When you know all their real names". Yukino said and Lucy smiled at her.

"True, it's only hard because of the names, I wonder if other teams can understand them"

"How do you know all about them anyway, I mean, I know that you're the first-rank student, but that's really … impossible". Gray asked her with his wide eyes

"I did the impossible right?" She smirked and he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Actually, our biology teacher told us to study carefully about the creatures in Japan because she said we were gonna need those knowledge on our trip but you guys didn't pay attention so … considering yourself lucky because me and Rogue are here." Lucy said and held up her chin.

Sting smiled widely and shook his head, Gray blinked and Erza stared at him, he looked strange when he smiled like that, at least to them. Yukino frowned, she suddenly felt uncomfortable but didn't know why. They began their chit-chat and decided to leave in one hour.

* * *

"Okay, how the hell we come back at the same place again?". Gray groaned. They still came back where they started an hour ago again and Gray began to piss. Lucy put her index finger on her chin, thinking about something then facepalm.

"We-"

"Forgot to make a mark" - Sting said before she got a chance to finish and she nodded. Rogue also had just remembered.

"There's no path in forest so our foot just follow their instinct, one long step and one short step, that why we just kept coming back where we started". Lucy nodded again. Lucy knew Sting was pretty smart, he just let his laziness got the better of him.

"Make a mark on the tree when we pass by, three lines so it won't be mistaken with other teams' marks". Rogue said and they started, again.

* * *

**[Later that night]**

"Hey Luce … Luce …wake up …"

Lucy heard dimly someone was calling her name but she thought she heard it wrong so she came back to her sleep.

"Luce … wake up, I've got something to show you". Now she felt like the person was shaking her and she really wanted to yell at them to go away but … although in her slumber, she was still aware of two of her friends were sleeping right next to her and Erza would kill her if she woke her up. She groaned and tried to open her eyes.

"What Sting …?" Yes, she could recognized his voice anywhere.

_He'd better have a good reason to wake me up in the middle of the night. _

"C'mon, wake up now sleeping beauty, there's something I need to show you, hurry".

He grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the tent. Lucy hissed in annoyance and struggled to awake as well as slipped on her combat boots. Sting led her quietly away from camping place in order not to wake their friends up. He looked back at her and smiled at her heavy with sleep face, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her, she was wearing a black tank top and brown khaki shorts. That was a bad choice of clothes, considering they were in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the night.

"Sorry to wake you up but I've just found out our last specimen and something more".

Now that made Lucy completely awake, they had been wandering in the forest all day and couldn't find the last specimen anywhere. Lucy thought that they could find it under large rocks when Rogue said they should find it in the stream but still ... couldn't see it anywhere.

"Japan giant salamander? How?" She asked in bewilderment. Sting grinned wildly at her.

"I accidentally read the extra information about creatures in Japan behind our book and it mentioned about giant salamander. The reason why we couldn't find them is because they live in streams with clear and cold water, Rogue was true but they have a night and completely water life. They only come to the surface to take oxygen, that's why we couldn't find them this morning"

She nodded, her mouth made an O shape.

"I didn't remember it until just a while ago, so I came back the small stream when … careful …" He held her hand to keep her balance – "… when we passed this morning, waited a little bit to see if there are any of them and found one, I've already taken a picture of it, it's really hard you know …". She nodded again.

"And? What else?" She asked in confusion. _I thought he said there was something more?_

Sting gave her a secret smile, one hand held hers and led her way, one hand parted branches that stood in their way.

"I said that I would make it up to you when I forgot our meeting at the ice-cream shop, remember?" She nodded, still trying to figure it out what he had in store for her.

"Well … This is for you …". He parted another branches like he was opening a secret door to Wonderland.

Lucy gasped, her heart skipped a beat at the sight in front of her. Hundred and hundred of fireflies covered the landscape and lightened up the whole corner of the forest..

Her eyes widened and she gulped, her breath shortened.

_This is …_

Sting tilted his head to contemplate her with eyes full of love and tenderness. He loved her reaction.

She stepped closer to the stream, the water surface was so peaceful and quiet. It reflected all those tiny little lamps, flying around, searching for their partners. The moon granted her light to the stream and coated the scene with a cold feeling but it went absolutely fit with the warmth light spread out from those fireflies. Lucy laughed lightly, looking around, trying to memorize the magical sight with her eyes and her heart, she looked at Sting over her shoulder and smiled sweetly at him.

_Heart beats fast_  
_Colors and promises_  
_How do be brave_  
_How can I love when I'm afraid_  
_To fall_  
_But watching you stand alone_  
_All of my doubt_  
_Suddenly goes away somehow_

"It's … amazing Sting, it's beautiful". Sting smiled tenderly at her, she looked like a little fairy had just finally knew where she belonged to - lower world's paradise.

"Yeah …" He whispered and stared right at her like he was talking about her, not the scene. Sting picked a white wild flowers, took a step closer and put it on the right side of her hair, then embraced her from behind, his chin on her shoulder and he breathed.

"You like it?"

Lucy looked at the sky, closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again. She touched his arms, enjoying his warmth.

_I have died everyday_  
_Waiting for you_  
_Darling, don't be afraid_  
_I have loved you for a_  
_Thousand years_  
_I'll love you for a_  
_Thousand more_

"I love it" - She whispered, butterflies were moving all around her stomach and a strange feeling was building up inside of her but it's not something uncomfortable, she decided that she loved this feeling.

They stood there for a moment then sat on a grass field near the stream. Lucy lied down, her head on Sting's thigh as they listened to the melody of the forest. Sting stroked her hair, eyes traveled from her hair, to her eyes, down her nose and halted at her lips.

_Will you kiss me back when I kiss you? Or will you step back and walk away?_

_Time stands still  
Beauty in all she is  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything  
Take away  
What's standing in front of me  
Every breath,  
Every hour has come to this_

He really didn't know what should he do. After all that happened, he wanted to tell her about his past so bad, to finally get that burden off his chest, his shoulder, but he was looking for more and more courage. He thought he still didn't brave enough to face it.

_One step closer_

_I'm such a coward. _

He sighed quietly but Lucy caught that. She diverted her eyes from the sky to his face and asked gently.

"What's wrong Sting?". Sting shook his head and smiled at her.

"Nothing".

Lucy knew he was lying but didn't push it further, just staring at him with her round eyes. The ethereal light framed his face and the look he gave her was so ... so soothing, so sweet that it almost stopped her heart. Happiness and sadness invaded her at the same time.

_I have died everyday_  
_Waiting for you_  
_Darling, don't be afraid_  
_I have loved you for a_  
_Thousand years_  
_I'll love you for a _  
_Thousand more_

She was happy because Sting was here with her, he'd done this all for her and that made her feel really special, but then … she remembered what Sting had said. He said that he was looking for a girl that could make him feel like _that girl_ had made him feel. And in a flash of second, the image of Sting being with another girl was like a hand that was trying to crush her heart, and … it was really … really painful. She redirected her eyes to the sky once more and blinked a couple times to hold back tears.

"The stars are so beautiful tonight huh?" She asked him, tried to make a decent conversation.

"Yeah …" He answered, looking at her eyes. They were twinkling like stars in his eyes and there were no other stars could compare to that, no matter how beautiful they were.

"Do you see those stars, Sting. They look like an arrow … see?" She pointed at the sky, tried to draw an arrow with her index finger. He nodded.

"Uh huh, what about them?"

"It's called Sagittarius, a constellation from 12 signs of the Zodiac, every constellation has its own story you know." He listened carefully.

"When I was a kid, instead of hearing historical monument like _Sleeping Beauty _or _Snow White,_ my mom told me stories about stars. And it was miraculous". She smiled at the memory, her mom had a lot of astronomic books and those were her most favorite.

"Yeah, your mom is wonderful". That's true, he and Rogue came to her house to hang out with her and her mother was really nice, she loved Sting and Rogue like her own sons. She reminded him of his mom. Lucy looked at him again.

"Sting …" She called him to attract his attention. - "Could you tell me something about your mom? You never told me about her before".

He blinked and stared at her. In a moment, she thought that he was gonna be mad at her again for touching that sensitive subject. She had learned from time to time that she must be really … really careful about that matter, about his mom. She only knew from Rogue that his mother passed away before he met her. Sting rarely mentioned about her and she respected that. But … in this moment, she felt that she could finally reach that smallest but also the most hurtful corner of his heart.

"It's okay if you don't-"

"She used to be my everything". He cut her off - "She taught me to garden, to tie shoelace, to show old people respect." Sting said quietly, it brought him such a painful feeling when someone asked about his mom, but ... he didn't feel anything when Lucy asked him that and ... he knew that she was probably the only one he could ever mention about his mom. Memories ran through his mind.

_One step closer_

"She told me to never, ever leave my friends behind and always keep my promise although I still haven't done a pretty good job at keeping them." He gave her a apologetic smile. "She taught me to love although I was still too young to know what the hell love is". Lucy giggled and that made him smile again.

"It's a shame that you couldn't taste her baking, her chocolate muffin was the best". His voice turned quiet.

_If she were still alive, she would love you Luce, she would want to have you as her daughter in law._

He thought but restrained himself from saying so.

Lucy bid her lip, he was hurting, she could detect the sadness and the sore in his voice, his eyes, it made her heart throb.

_Sting ..._

She took his hand and kissed his palm. She didn't want to say anything and Sting knew she didn't have to. Sometimes when somebody opens their hearts to you, you don't have to say anything to comfort them or give them advice, just listen to them and that is enough. Lucy gave Sting her best smile, her eyes twinkled with the light from the moon and fireflies. And Sting understood all the things she was trying to say just by looking at her eyes.

_And all along I believed_  
_I would find you_  
_Time has brought _  
_Your heart to me_  
_I have loved you for a_  
_Thousand years_  
_I'll love you for a _  
_Thousand more_

_I'm here for you._

He smiled back at her. He now knew what he should do.

* * *

**[Meanwhile]**

"Spying on them won't get you anywhere". Yukino jumped the sound of someone's voice.

It was Rogue. She was hiding behind a tree, looking at Sting and Lucy secretly. She was trying to sleep when she heard someone's voice outside the tent. She recognized Sting's voice and decided to follow them.

"Rogue, what are you doing here? You scared me to death". She said quietly and put a hand on her chest to calm her heart. Rogue just stared at her with his cold eyes, didn't answer her question.

"He will never choose you so just give it up". He said nonchalantly then turned his head to look at Lucy and Sting. Lucy was lying down on Sting's thigh, saying something then pointing her finger to the sky. Yukino frowned slightly.

"How do you know? Nothing's impossible you know, they're just friend, I still have my chance." She mumbled that last part.

He snorted. _Stubborn eh?_

"Oh I know, believe me. He will never choose you over Lucy, even if she didn't return his feeling".

Yukino felt her heart sting at his words but she tried to put it aside. Yukino then stared at him with confusing eyes.

"Can I ask you something?". She took his silence as a yes.

"You like her, don't you?"

Rogue scoffed.

"Isn't that obvious? I don't like her." He fixed his stare at her, allowed her to look into his eyes to see the honest and the feeling that he kept for a certain girl.

"I love her".

She frowned again and gave him a strange look.

"You don't seem having any problem with them being together like that and you said you love her?"

"Why should I?" He shrugged.

"So you're just gonna let her go like that?"

"Who says I'm gonna let her go?". Yukino sighed. Talking with him cost a lot more energy than she thought.

"But-"

"We love her both …" – He said and Yukino widened her eyes.

"Are you serious? That's impossible. Love is selfish, you won't have your place between them once you let her fall into Sting's arms like that". She hardened her eyes. _What the hell is he thinking?. _She understood what he was implying.

"You think I'm not selfish? You think I like seeing her being with another person? laughing with another person? You think I don't want me to be the only one that could make her happy, the only one in her heart?"

Rogue looked at her with such intense that she unconsciously took a step back.

"I love her, therefore I'm selfish too. But …" He turned away, fixed his stare at the sky.

"…When you truly love someone, you know that their happiness is more important than your selfishness." He put his hand in his pocket, feeling the thin fabric of _his_ handkerchief.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

_"What is that?" - Rogue asked suspiciously. They was standing in the middle of her room, facing each other. He had come to Heartfilla's mansion to borrow notes from Lucy because he was sick and couldn't come to class almost a whole week. He spotted something with his name on and was about to grabbed it but Lucy was faster. She immediately rushed to her desk and hid it behind her back._

_"Nothing" She smiled widely but was panicking inside. _

_"It has my name on it, isn't it?" He took a step forward and she took a step back._

_"No … really it's nothing Rogue" She mumbled and avoided looking in his eyes._

_"Lucy … what-is-that?" He emphasized every word, tried to take a look at it. Lucy knew she couldn't hide it forever, Rogue would find it out sooner or later, he always would. She sighed and extended her hand in front of him. It's a handkerchief, with pink flowers embroidery and … _"To my dear Rogue". _He took the handkerchief and read the text then looked back at her._

_She looked at the ground and said quietly_

_"I sewed it for you a few days ago when you were still sick"_

_"Then … why don't you give it to me?" He raised his eyebrows at her. _

_"It's … pink_ …_ I remembered that you don't like pink when I finished it … and you're not sick anymore so .. give it back". She tried to grab it but he held it out of her reach and smirked._

_"No way, my name was on it so … it's mine". She was stunned for moment then looked at him sheepishly. He was surveying the handkerchief in his hand with a smile. He didn't care if it looked girly and didn't suit him, she'd done it for him and he would preserve it with his heart. _

_"You don't have to take it if you don't like, I'll give you something else". She mumbled  
_

_"No, I love it. Thank you". He grinned at her and her eyes widened. It was the first time she'd seen it.  
_

He looks really funny grinning like that.

_She giggled - "You're welcome". _

**[End of flashback]  
**

* * *

He smiled a small smile at the memory. He had brought the handkerchief with him ever since, every time he went out. No girls had ever done that for him and what she did was really touching. They were 13 back then, the handkerchief had brought them closer, so close that when he realized it, there's no turning back anymore.

"She's too precious to us so we won't tear her apart by making her choose, she can't choose between us". His eyes turned blankly, the warmth in his eyes a while ago had disappeared and Yukino couldn't figure out what he was thinking or feeling at that moment.

"We're like a triangle and we can't be completed if one piece was missing. The only hindrance right now is Sting's past but Lucy will help him get over it. She will soon become conscious of her feeling about him and Sting … the desire to be with her will eventually defeat his fear. We both love her and she loves us both, she just ... hasn't realized it yet". He looked at her again.

"Love can't be share like that, it's impossible Rogue". This time, she shook her head slightly.

"Nothing's impossible when you're in love" - He said casually.

"When you find someone deserves your heart, you will understand why you and Sting can't be together. Stop hurting yourself more than you already have". Rogue said his final words to her that night then walked away, leaving Yukino alone with her thought.

_Love among three people? Is that possible or it's just his delusion?  
_

**End of chapter 7**

* * *

**Thank you for reading again :D I hope you like it, tell me what you think :D**

**Maybe the chorus of the song didn't fit much to you but I could tell that song was "the one" :))**

**Anyway I'm sorry if there are any mistakes :D I'm sure there are -_-**

**I'll see you next time :D Good night/day.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Tsundere?

**Hey :D It's me Merikatori and I bring you the latest chapter of Pure :D**

**First of all thank you all of you for reading, making this your favorite story**

**Special thanks to Sakamaki Hikaru, AnimeWhoLock, DarqueDeth4444, Spyka, SimplyIsabelleS, Guest and Mandy422 for reviewing :D You guys are the best XD XD  
**

**Guest: **I like RoLu as much as I like StiCy really :D Thank you for your opinion but actually ... I don't have the intention to put Rogue and Yukino together from the first place you know :D I think that they could be good friends and that's enough :D I want to create a love triangle among three of them (Sting, Lucy, Rogue), not in the competitive way but in the ... I don't know how to say it but I guess in the understanding way? I don't want to choose between RoLu and StiCy XD I just can't :D**  
**

**Mandy422: **Yeah I know, I even love him more than Sting when I wrote that chapter XD He'll have more scene I promise, three of them were main characters so I want to be fair with them.

**Anyway, English is not my mother language so I'm sorry for any mistakes that I made :D Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 8 - Tsundere?**

Yukino yawned, pulling the strap of her bag a little to make her shoulder more comfortable. The lack of sleep made her shoulder and back feel weary. She had left a while after Rogue, headed back to the girls' tent and tried to sleep but her eyes refused to close, her thought just kept bothering her mind. She finally could sleep an hour later, when she assumed it was about 2 AM, Lucy still hadn't been back though. That probably explained why she was having a doze on Rogue's shoulder while he was giving her a piggyback. The girl couldn't even open her eyes properly when Erza and Yukino tried to wake her up at 7 this morning. Yukino wondered what they did last night after she had left.

She felt completely lost after she heard Rogue said that he would never choose her over Lucy. If it came someone else she would just shrug it off and still tried to give her best shot, but … it wasn't. It came from Rogue, someone was very very close to him and that made her anxious.

"Sting, I'll cut your hand off if you don't leave her alone right now". – Rogue's voice broke the line of her thought.

"Can't help it, she looks cute when she's sleeping" – Sting said nonchalantly. She saw him kept poking Lucy's cheek slightly.

"Stop it Sting, she'll get bitchy if she doesn't get enough sleep" – Rogue was getting more and more annoying at Sting but he tried not to bust. He didn't want his little girl woke up and turned into a monster.

"Fine" – Sting finally gave in.

Yukino sighed. _What should I do?. - _Erza caught that but didn't say anything, just gave her a strange look.

"What did she do last night anyway, she looks like she didn't sleep a wink" – Gray asked and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Sting said he and Lucy went out to collect the last specimen so they came back late". – Erza answered him, looking at the camera to check the photos.

"The last specimen? We couldn't find them whole day yesterday. How did they find them anyway?"

"It's because we could only find them at night, in the stream we passed yesterday" – Sting said swiftly.

"Why did you have to wake her up anyway? Why not Rogue or me? Who knew what you were gonna do with her in the middle of the night?"

Gray said harshly, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him. Sting halted when he heard what just came out of Gray's mouth and clenched his fists. How dare him imply that he would do something bad to Lucy. He would kill himself first if he ever tried it. He tried to keep his composure in check.

_Breath Sting, breath, things between you and Lucy are pretty good, don't ruin it again. _

He turned around and gave Gray his infamous smirk.

"I like being with her so I wanted her to go with me, I don't care if you have the problem with that. And for your information, I would never, ever do something that would bring her harm so don't you dare say that again or you're gonna regret that" - That was not a lie, he said it and he meant it.

Gray was about to retort back but Erza glared at him to make him stop. He looked away. _Tsk._ And scowling hard at the ground. Erza could feel the tension was rising in the air. Sting seemed pretty offense at Gray's words but she could see that he was trying to hold back, for his sake or for Lucy's sake she was not sure.

_Probably both_.

She must admit that being in the same team with them wasn't so bad. Rogue was smart, that was no doubt, Sting was not so bad either, the fact that he was the one who could find out where was their last specimen was pretty impressive, and Yukino, such a sweet girl. She seemed nice, not as mean as many girls in Sabertooth.

But Erza knew that there was something going on between her and Sting. Well, probably just Yukino, Sting didn't take much notice about her, Erza could clearly see that. Lucy gained all his attention when she was around and Erza was about 90 percent sure that Yukino liked him, the girl just kept looking at him secretly, or frowned when he was fooling around with Lucy or smiled at her. Erza was never an observant person but it was so obvious that she couldn't help but noticing. She felt bad for Yukino, it was hard when someone who you was attracted to couldn't even see your affection for them, let alone return it.

That made her kinda worry because she had a crush on someone *cough* Jella *cough* too and she was really scared that he wouldn't feel the same way about her. But that's the story for another time anyway. It was also kinda funny to see the high and mighty Sting, the cold and bad boy of Fiore turned 180 degrees into someone who was childish, impartial with a stupid grin on his face all the time. She never knew that the boy had this side in him.

And about Rogue … well. He was still the same as far as she could see, but … he was different at the same time too. He seemed more relax and more tender, he sometimes would smile a small smile, but only when you looked really, really closely that I could see it. It was a privilege that only Lucy could receive. She saw the way he look at her with his red eyes, the cold and the cruelty because of their color were just disappeared and the admiration as well as dearness replaced them perfectly.

Her lips turned up a little, Lucy seemed like she had some kind of super power that could turn this two boys of her into someone else. There was no doubt that they would do anything for their girl and protect her even from the world. The three of them were very lucky to have one another, they were family, they were friends and perhaps lovers in the future. Erza wondered who Lucy would choose between Sting and Rogue, it sounded kinda stupid to her but Erza hoped that she would never have to because it would surely break her heart whatever her decision was.

"So where is the meeting place again Erza?" - Rogue asked her. She pulled out the paper to read it again.

"About 2 miles West from where we had started" - Rogue nodded. It was 11.30 AM and the sun was on their sinciputs so they had to define the direction again.

_That means the North from where we're standing. _He thought.

"Sting, look for some moss at the foot of a tree, they grow at the North. Yukino, try to find an ant nest, they shield their nest with leaves at the North too, just to be sure"

They nodded and did what he told them. After a moment, they could find their right direction again and continued to finish their journey. Lucy had waken up after a while, and the noise started again. Lucy looked over her shoulder to give Sting and Yukino her smile. They smiled back at her. Sting seemed tired and yawned a couple of times.

Sting looked at the girl who was walking beside him and saw her frown. He blinked.

"Give me your bag".

Yukino snapped out of her thought then looked at him with confusion.

"P…pardon me?"

"They seemed heavy, I'll carry them for you for a while".

"N..no, it's …it's okay, I'm fine" - She raised her hands to decline but he didn't listen to her, just pull the straps of the bag off her shoulders. She blushed at his gesture and tried to hide it by looking at the ground and covered her red face with her hair, fortunately that was unnoticeable by him.

She glanced at him and saw his eyes lingered on a certain girl. Lucy seemed cheerful after she had her sleep. She was walking backward, talking something to Erza and they both laughed at Gray's miserable face. She then walked toward Rogue, holding his arm then swing both their arms back and forth like they were 5. He exhaled a soft laugh. _Kid. _

"How long have you known one another?" – Yukino asked out of the blue – "I mean, you and Lucy ….". She didn't know what else to talk so she tried the easiest way – asked about their relationship.

"Huhmm… almost ten years … I guess. Wow, it's been really long time" – Sting nodded to himself.

"How did you guys meet?" - She continued, she suddenly felt curious.

"It's a long story anyway, my cat brought me to her". He looked at Lucy and grinned. _Talking about Lector, I've never given him a proper thanks after what he had done, maybe I should after this trip._

"Is Rogue always like that around her?" She tilted her head, looking at Rogue's smiling face. Erza, Gray and Rogue, they looked like they had got used to one another. Lucy was sandwiched between Erza and Rogue, Gray was walking right next to Erza. Sting and Yukino were walking closely behind them.

"Yeah, only around her" – Sting smirked.

* * *

_"A girl kidnapped Lector?" – Rogue asked his friend, his eyebrows knitted together. _

_"No, she didn't kidnap him, she found him" – Sting said, smiling and petting Lector. Rogue was sitting on his bed, holding Frosh, his own kitten. Both of them had come back home just in time for dinner. Fortunately that Sting had found Lector, he told Rogue about the girl he met near the river bank. Rogue had never seen him so exciting before, not after his mother's death. He was curious and wanted to know who was this girl._

_"She looks really cute, with her blond hair and her eyes look delicious too" – Sting exclaimed. _

_"Did you just describe a person's eyes as delicious?" – Rogue made a disgusting face. _He sounded like a monster that like to eat people's raw eyes.

_"No – yes … I mean, her eyes looked beautiful, they're brown and remind me of chocolate so I said they looked delicious" – Sting said loudly, his smile never faded._

_"Come with me to the park tomorrow to see her, you'll like her". _

_ Rogue only nodded, didn't feel enthusiastic at all._

* * *

_"She stood us up Sting" – Rogue said nonchalantly. They had been waiting for this girl for almost an hour and she was nowhere to be seen. Rogue began to get annoyed, he just kept grunting and frowning and murmuring something about 'Idiot Sting' 'Idiot Blondie'. _

_"She'll come, she promised" – Sting talked back but he also began to doubt his words. _She's just a … little late. _He sighed, he didn't know why but something told him that just kept waiting, kept waiting and she would come so he waited even though he didn't know how long he was gonna have to wait._

_But … his effort seemed worth it. He caught a glimpse of yellow at the horizon and immediately stood up. He grinned widely and waved at her, Lucy was running really fast toward them. She stopped in front of Sting, putting her hands on her knees and panting._

_"S..*pant* sorry *pant* *pant…for *pant* being *pant* *pant* late." _

_Sting patted her back slightly._

_"It's okay, we've just come here too". He lied.  
_

_"Really?" Lucy asked with her wide eyes._

_*cough*_

_Rogue coughed and cleared his throat loudly. _Idiot. _He glared at the girl, he did so not like her although she looked kinda pretty, just like Sting had said. But how could he like her when she made him wait for almost an hour. Rogue back then was impatient and even more hot-head than Sting. _

_Sting frowned at him and mouthed 'Don't be rude to her' but Rogue just "Tsk" at him. Lucy looked at Sting, then at Rogue then at Sting then at Rogue again._

_"What are you looking at, Blondie we've been waiting for you for an hour, next time if you can't come just in time then don't come at all ". Rogue said rudely, he ignored Sting's deadly glare. _

_"I said don't be rude to her" Sting half shouted half whispered to him._

_ Lucy flinched at Rogue harsh tone then set her eyes at the ground guiltily._

_"I'm sorry I didn't mean to, my mom's sick today, I was so worried that I totally forgot, I'm sorry" – Her eyes began to water and they widened their eyes, both at her sight and her words. _

_Sting scowled at Rogue then flung his arms around to hug her, patting her head slightly like a big brother._

_"Oh don't cry Luce, I don't blame you, don't pay attention to him, he's always mean like that". He heard Rogue's growl so he turned around and stuck his tongue out at him. _

_Lucy rubbed her eyes to get rid of some of her tears. She then freed herself gently from Sting's arms and approached Rogue. She put her hands behind her back and looked at him sheepishly, he folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at her._

_"I'm sorry for making you wait, it won't happen again, could you forgive me?" – She didn't know if that was enough so she gave him her puppy dog eyes. She did it all the time with her mother and it always worked. Rogue's eyes widened, she looked so adorable that all he wanted was giving her a bear hug._

W..wh..what the heck? Sh…she …

_He was taken back by her cute face and unconsciously gulped. He couldn't even think straight with her staring at him like that. Rogue looked over her shoulder then spotted Sting's silent laugh, he scowled hard at him then regained his composure then cleared this throat._

_"Fine, you're forgiven" He mumbled._

_Lucy's face lit up, she grinned widely then flung herself hug him.  
_

_"Thank you so much". _

_"Blon … Blondie … can't … breath". _

_Lucy immediately let him go and laughed nervously, she extended her hand at him._

_"I'm Lucy, nice to meet you" – Rogue looked at her hand then back at her face, considering his option. _

_"She won't eat you Sting, it's just a handshake" – Sting scolded him. Rogue sighed then took her hand._

_"Rogue Cheney" – She smiled._

_"Nice to meet you Rogue"_

* * *

Memories brough him back to the old day when he first met Lucy.

_I changed a lot because of her. _

Despite the dislike he gave her when she almost stood them up back then, she was still friendly to him. Rogue hated people who were late the most and she knew that, but instead of staying away from him, she tried to change that grudge because she truly wanted friendship to be blossom between her and him. She didn't have many friends because other kids didn't like her because her family was super rich. They said that she was hard to please and could tell her father to do something bad to them if they displeased her.

Rogue didn't like her at first but not because of her family, it's because of what happened at the park plus she talked too much, always noisy and always tried to get under his skin. But the more he tried to push her away, the more she tried to get closer. The animosity slowly turned into something else that completely changed him: admiration, fondness, warmth…

* * *

_"Hey Rogue_" _– Rogue was cleaning his electric guitar in his room when he heard her voice. It was a Saturday afternoon when Sting invited her to come to dinner. He looked at her and gave her a nod, Rogue had begun to consider her as a friend but he still sometimes said something impolite to her. He tried to hide that fact that he started to like her as someone who was close to him. _

_"Did you see Sting and dad the way out?" _

_"Uh huh, he said they have to go to the grocery store to buy some vegetables and he told me to stay and keep you company" – She said and sat on his chair, watching him with her brown eyes. _

_"Hey you play guitar?"_

_"A little"_

_"Can you play me a song?" – She asked, her face filled excitement. She liked music and all kind of musical accessory._

_"No" – He said tersely_

_"Why not" – She pouted. _

_"Why didn't you just go and let me have some peace before I completely lost it at dinner?" – He said, still cleaning his guitar. He didn't hear anything coming from her. _

_"What, cat got your tongue"._

_Lucy frowned at his rudeness but tried to push it aside. She'd already used to it. She looked somewhere else, let the sadness occupy her eyes, it's just … she tried to be optimistic but it's been 6 years and he still seemed doesn't like her much. _

_She didn't know why, she tried to talk to him, telling him jokes to make him laugh but he never laughed, just stared at her with his red eyes, making her look like an idiot talking and laughing with herself, she heard from Sting that he liked sushi so she asked her mother to show her how to do it. Her effort still didn't please him very much, when she asked 'Is that good', he just said swiftly 'It's fine' or 'It's okay' and switched to other dishes. Sting usually scolded him, sometimes he would get angry at him for being so cruel to her but she just laughed lightly and told him to let it pass. It seemed like she didn't get anywhere with this friendship and she felt very disheartened. _

_Rogue lifted his head to gaze at her and guilty crept through his heart, she seemed … down. She usually would laugh (nervously) at his harsh or retorted back or pouted cutely and it's strange when one of those things didn't happen today. _

_He didn't know why he just kept pushing her away like that. He wanted her to stay with him instead of going to the grocery store, she had tried so hard to be friendly with him, to show him her good faith but it still wasn't enough for him. He had been too greedy perhaps? Now when he thought about it, he felt really content when she did something to him, when she spoiled him with her attention or her foods she made for him and he claimed that it had to be that way, she had to treat him that way and that ... was only natural. He didn't realize that he had hurt her more than once._

_"Sorry, that's mean" – He said quietly but loudly enough for her to hear then came back with what he was doing. The guitar was sparkling clean but he just kept cleaning and cleaning, didn't know what to say next. _

_"It's okay" – Lucy murmured._

_"Maybe some other times, I still need to practice more before I can play it perfectly" – He said and Lucy just nodded. _

_She was unusual quiet that night…_

* * *

"Rogue was mean to her back then" – Sting mumbled and shook his head.

"Really? Why?" – Yukino asked then turned to look at Rogue in awe. She found it hard to imagine Rogue being unkind to Lucy.

"Don't know, because he was a tsundere?" He said and she giggled. He still didn't know why until today, but things changed, he changed and it's like he now was trying to make it up to those days when there was nothing but bitter and distance between them, even though it was just the outside.

* * *

"Rogue … Rogue are you okay?" Lucy took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He was staring into space, lost in thought but snapped out of it when he felt the warmth from her hand.

"Yeah … I'm fine" – He forced a small smile. _If only I could have been nicer to her. _He sighed quietly, he looked at her face and his mind couldn't stop but reminisced about something.

* * *

_Rogue took out his umbrella and was locking his locker when he heard someone cursed. _

_"Shit, how am I going home now". _

_It was Lucy..._

_"First I was late for the rehearsal, hit a bicycle, now I forget to bring my umbrella and it's raining. Great" – She said loudly and slumped on the perron of the (almost) empty hall, waiting for the rain to stop. _

Look like she just had a really bad Sunday. _He smirked and shook his head slightly._

_"The universe seems hate you" _

_"Tell me about it" She answered then jumped. Lucy turned around and sighed in relief when she saw it was Rogue, she looked surprise for a moment then murmured._

_"Oh, it's you" – Rogue raised an eyebrow._

_"You're expecting someone else?"_

_"N..no, not like that" – She stammered then stared at the blue sky filled with gray clouds. A supposed to be beautiful Sunday was ruined by God. It's raining like cats and dogs and there was no way she could leave here without an umbrella. Rogue put a hand in his pocket, his other hand held the umbrella behind his back. He stared at her, her back facing him, he wondered what was she thinking. He moved forward and sat down next to her._

_"What are you doing here?" – He asked. He didn't feel very comfortable after last night when she came to have dinner, she was so quiet and avoided his eyes whenever he tried to look into hers. _

_"I got a rehearsal" – She extended her hand to catch raindrops falling from Heaven, they were drip drop on her palm like crazy and she smiled. _

_"What about you? What are you doing here" Lucy asked back, didn't look at his face.  
_

_"I practiced soccer at the back yard" - She nodded. They sat like that, watching tear drops falling from God. He paused for a moment then stood up, suddenly grabbed her hand._

_"C'mon, let's go home, I have my umbrella"_

_Rogue pulled her and she struggled to stand up with one leg._

_"W.. wait, my … my …" - She looked down and Rogue followed her eyes, they lingered on her livid ankle, that the result when she hit a bicycle this morning.  
_

_"You sprained your ankle and you still go to school?". - He asked casually but it sounded like he was scolding her._

_"I didn't notice it this morning, it didn't hurt until a while ago okay." - She grunted. She had had enough bad luck today and she didn't want Rogue to make it worse.  
_

_Rogue stared at her, hand still holding hers. She blushed slightly then withdrew her hand and he let her. He turned around and crouched down._

_"Get on" - Lucy's eyes widened, she opened her mouth ..._

_"And don't you dare say no to me." He cut her off before she got a chance to protest. She closed her mouth then obediently took the umbrella from his hand. She embraced his neck and blushed hard but fortunately he didn't see it, his hands were behind her knees. _

_They were silent on the way home. _

_Rogue wanted to say something but he didn't know what to say, should he apologize to her about last again? Should he wait for her to say something first? _

_Her scent faintly redolent, sunshine was replaced by rain blended with magnolia. It made him feel fresh and comfortable. _

_Lucy held the umbrella and tilted her head to look at his face secretly, it didn't express any emotion and she wondered what was he thinking. _

_Was he still annoyed with her? Her eyes glued to his, people usually got scared when they looked into his eyes because they were red and they were cold and cruel but ... Lucy didn't think so. She actually loved his eyes, they held strength as well as warmth but also a hint of sadness … and lonely. Lucy could find a little bit of herself when she looked into his eyes. She didn't realize that she was slowly leaning on his shoulder, her cheek almost met the fabric of his shirt. _

_Rogue saw that out of the corner of his eyes but didn't say anything, his lips twitched in amusement. He suddenly jumped over a puddle, startling her. She squealed and hugged his neck tighter, almost choked him. Rogue snickered and she blushed again, realizing that he was teasing her. She seemed blush a lot today. She smiled shyly at the sound coming from him, it was like the tension from the last dinner was disappeared, she bid her lips then slowly but boldly leaned her cheek on the crook of his neck, waiting for his reaction but got none. _

_She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. He smiled back at her even though he didn't see her face, he knew she was smiling._

* * *

Rogue smiled widely at her and she laughed lightly.

"Okay mister you're creeping me out, what's so funny?"

Rogue shook his head but the smile didn't slip from his face.

"Nothing".

* * *

Sting saw Rogue pulled Lucy closer, their arms were touching and he chuckled.

_You can see through me Rogue, but you forgot that I also can see through you too._

Yukino looked at him quizzically. She had tried to involve him to talk to her but he just answered swiftly then his mind would drift to somewhere else. She then decided to take all her courage then asked him directly, the thing that she had wanted to ask so many time but was afraid to hear the answer.

"You like her, don't you?"

Sting blinked twice then gave her a surprised look.

"Huh?"

"Do you like her, Lucy?" - She asked again.

"I mean, like like, not just like, you know …" – She tried to explain, thinking that he didn't understand but he just stared at her.

After a minute but Yukino felt like forever, he turned away, looking straight ahead again and dropped their conversation. Yukino was hurt when he ignored her like that. _Bad move. _She scolded herself.

* * *

"Oh-my-God, urrrggg … home sweet home". Lucy jumped on the bed, her face hit the pillow and she sighed in content.

"Actually, it's my home and my room" – Sting said quietly, put down his pack bag then covered his mouth again. He still couldn't get rid of the feeling of sickness when he was on the boat and the bus. It was 9 PM and they'd just returned from their trip, it was fun but also exhausting. Their team did a pretty good job, most of the students could find the right direction but not all of them could find all the specimens, some teams couldn't even understand what the list was saying so they captured every picture of every tree and animal they found. Some teams had some right pictures but some also didn't get any.

Rogue plopped himself down on the bed next to her, copying her posture and hummed. He was so tired from the travel sickness and couldn't even lift a finger.

"Okay, Rogue, not you too, it's my bed, go back to your room" – He said tiredly. Rogue didn't budge a muscle, he didn't have enough energy to say anything so he just grunted and groaned. Lucy looked at Rogue then got up, she held his head and put it on her lap and beckoned Sting to do the same. She fondled their hair gently and smiled. She did it all the time when they were young. They didn't have any problem with motorcycle or bicycle but bus and boat and plane and other vehicles ... that's another story._  
_

"Feeling better?" They sighed in content and nodded.

After about half an hour, she yawned then decided to left but before she could even put a toe on the ground, two hands caught her wrists and pulled her down again.

"It's late, stay" – Rogue murmured and hold her waist, pulling her closer, Sting also put an arm around her and snuggled into her warmth, buried his face into her hair. She hummed then closed her eyes, drifting to sleep in peace with a smile on her face. They shared the same bed that night, something they hadn't done for a very long time.

* * *

**[Two week later]**

"Have you told Masters about her?" Lucy asked Sting while preparing some pancake and omelet for them at her dorm. It was a Tuesday morning when they arrived at her dorm very early to have breakfast with her.

"Yeah, Master Jiemma didn't look very please when I told him that" – Sting took out a gallon of milk and poured to his glass as well as Rogue's.

"He said that he couldn't do something more than warning her because we don't have proof and it could be a misunderstanding" – Rogue continued.

"Yeah, but I heard the teachers mumbled about Master was furious at her, guess that why she's backed off a little". – Sting nodded.

Lucy put down three dished on the table, thinking about something.

"Next time if she bother you, tell me, I have an idea"

"What idea?" Sting was curious, Lucy was up to something and when she was up to something, it must be really funny or really evil.

"Only when she bother you again, if you want to know then just invite her to come to you" - She deadpanned and Sting shut up immediately, there's no way in hell it's gonna happen.

Rogue looked at them and chuckled.

* * *

Lucy came to her classroom when the bell rung the third ring. She was wondering what the hell was happening with everybody, they seemed … very exciting about something, she tugged Erza sleeve.

"Hey Erza, what with all this … animation?" Lucy asked her, she was really curious. Was there a festival going happen or something. Erza crossed her arm and sighed.

"It's been quite sometime I guess".

"Ehhh … pardon me?" Her eyebrows knitted together, she asked a question and Erza's answered completely didn't related to it, at all. Erza shook her head and smiled, she was about to tell Lucy but the door slammed open loudly. A guy was standing at the door, wearing Fiore's uniform and Fairy Tail's bandage with a very serious expression on his face.

_Striped scarf, black eyes, …pink hair? _Lucy's eyes widened.

"He's back" – Erza finished her sentence.

_Natsu Dragneel?_

**End of chapter 8**

* * *

**:D Sooo? What do you think?**

**I want to put Sunday Morning by Maroon 5 in this chapter because I was listening to it while I was writing but I realized it maybe didn't fit :D  
**

**Anyway thank you for reading  
**

**Bye guys XD**


	9. Chapter 9 - Old friend, New event

**Hey guys! Good to see you again :D :D I'm so sorry for the late update, I was kinda busy last week and was stuck as to how I should progress the story but it's okay now, I've figured out the right plot for it.**

**Thank you for reading, following, making it your favorite story and reviewing :D Special thanks to Psyka, SimplyIsabelleS and Mandy422 :D Love you guys XD**

**This chapter's super long -_- The longest I've ever written (more than 8000 words ) , I wanted to cut it in two but I couldn't find the right place to cut it :D I hope you don't mind.**

**Sorry for the grammar errors :D I tried my best and I'll fix it when I re-read.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 9 - Old friend, New event**

Natsu was standing at the door, his eyes scanned the whole class. Nobody moved or spoke anything, all eyes focused on him before his face stretched a wide grin.

"I'm home." – And everybody broke into loud cheers and claps. Fairy Tail's building was like there was an earthquake and Natsu was in the middle of the blockade of his classmates. People were patting his chest, his back, saying a ton of 'Welcome back' to him.

"Natsu, fight meee, you're not gonna get away this time, Pinky." – Gray shouted, then pointed a finger at his face. Natsu narrowed his eyes.

"Get away? Are you implying that I'm a coward?"

"You said it yourself." – Gray smirked and Natsu cracked his knuckles.

"Bring it on, Stripper." – He rolled up his sleeves and they was about to rush at each other when they felt Erza's death glare across the room. Both of them sweatdropped and halted immediately.

"I…I mean ….Good to have you back." – Gray looked at Erza apologetically and patted Natsu's back slightly. Natsu laughed nervously then put an arm around Gray's shoulder.

"Y…Yeah, H…hi Erza, long time no see." – He waved at Erza and his eyes suddenly widened when he saw the girl standing next to her. He blinked to take a better look at her. _Is that ...?_

"LUCY!" – He yelled then ran at her to give her a bear hug.

"Lucy, you're here, I can't believe it!" - He lifted her up and spun her around

"Okay Natsu, you're choking her, let her go." – Erza said firmly, then tried to make him let her go.

"I can't believe you're here either ...We met each other in America." – Lucy coughed then grinned widely at him and said to everyone in the room, who was staring at them in question. They cheered and clapped again, although she didn't know why.

"Good to see you again, Lucy." - Natsu gave her a toothy grin and Lucy laughed softly.

"You, too".

* * *

**[Lunch break]**

"So, how did you guys meet?" – Erza asked her.

She, Lucy, Natsu, and Gray were sitting on their usual table at the canteen on lunch break. They were kinda curious to know how did those two become friends. Natsu went to Fiore two years ago, but he got a sport scholarship in America in his second year. That's a golden opportunity for him to be trained in the best conditions, so he left Fiore when there were three more months before the school's year ended. Master Makarov sent him a private tutor so he still could continue studying according to Fiore's syllabus.

Lucy smiled, but she was a little hesitant.

"Well, uhm … he ... saved me."

* * *

**[Flash back]**

**[9 months ago]**

_Lucy was strolling down the street, trying to find the right way. She insisted that she would go to school by subway instead of a car like her father had told her to. She didn't like the attention she received every time she walked out of her father's limo. She hated it here, she missed her friends back home and just wanted to go back as soon as possible, but … it had been more than a year and still no sign that her father had finished his business in here. _

_Lucy looked around, she didn't know if she was on the right way, it was darker than usual, her phone was out of battery so she couldn't call home. _

Great.

_She halted in an empty crossing and wondered where should she go, she decided to turn right, but regretted it immediately. In the small alley, there were three men talking and laughing together and they didn't look very … friendly, seeing that tattoos covered all over their bodies, they wore earrings and one of them was puffing at a cigarette. Lucy turned around and walked away as quickly as possible, but they had noticed her the moment they saw her face. Their laughter died down and Lucy knew that they were following her. _

Shit.

_"Hey babe, where are ya going, come have some fun with us." One of them called her._

_She ignored them and walked faster._

_"Don't ignore us like that doll, c'mon, come with us, I'll get ya home." - They said then laughed together cruelly. _

_Lucy started to run, but they were faster. One of them grabbed her arm and spun her around, they surrounded her, blocking her way. One had a scar on his face, one was stunk with smoke, and the one who was holding her arm had red hair. They looked older than her about 4 or 5 years._

_"Let me go." – Lucy yelled, then tried to yank her arm away from his grasp, but to no avail. She tried to call for help, but Red-hair covered her mouth with his filthy hand._

_"Ooh, feisty." – Stinky eyed her from top to bottom then licked his lips – "I like it." – He approached her, trying to touch her chest, but she stepped her heel on his foot, which made him yelp in pain. Next, she swung her leather briefcase in Red-hair's face, made him lost his balance. Scar-face held her from behind then pulled her hair roughly and she cried out. _

_"Bitch!" – Red-hair rubbed his face then slapped her and Stinky gave her a punch in the stomach. _

_She coughed, then lifted her head and kicked Red-hair in the face again, breaking his nose. She tried to kick Stinky in the groin, but, unfortunately, he caught her leg and gave her another punch in the stomach. Scar-face strangled her neck, choking her, yet, before she blacked out from lack of oxygen, she fell on the ground. Her eyes blurred and she blinked to clear them. Lucy saw a guy that was fighting on all sides among three of them, and just a minute later, he was the only one who still stood firm on his feet. He knelt in front of her, eyes full of worry._

_"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"_

_"Ye… yeah, I'm… I'm fine." – Lucy managed to say and he sighed in relief._

_"Thank you." – She said and smiled a small smile at him. He smiled back, then helped her stand up, he pulled out his phone to call 911._

_"You're welcome." – He said then checked her up to see if there was any serious injure. She held her stomach in pain but other than that, she was fine._

_"What are you doing here? It's not safe for a girl to stroll on this street at this time, you know." – He frowned, noticing some purple hand prints on her arm as well as her red cheek. _

_"Sorry, I was lost." – She mumbled. She was lucky that she had met him when he was passing by, she didn't know what would happen to her if he didn't show up._

_"Where do you live? I'll get you home after we get to the nearest drugstore." – He offered._

_"Really? Thank you." – She said then bowed to express her appreciation, he scratched his head sheepishly then grinned at her._

_"It's nothing, don't worry. I'm Natsu Dragneel by the way." – He extended his hand for a handshake._

_"You're Japanese, that's great. Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you Natsu." – She took his hand and smiled. _

_It's good to have a countryman in this strange land._

**[End of Flash back]**

* * *

"I was kinda surprised when I learned she was a Heartfilla." – Natsu spoke loudly and Lucy had to cover his mouth when some people turned to look at them. In America, it's fine when people knew that's she a Heartfilia, not like everyone knew who she was and she was there only temporarily, but it was different in here, she had to be careful.

"Hush Natsu, they don't know I'm a Heartfilla, keep your voice down." – She gritted her teeth and he murmured an apology.

"What about those punks? Did they go to jail? I would have beat them to death if I were there." – Erza growled and slammed her hand on the table, which attracted more attention than anything before. Men who beat a girl were worse than scum.

"Ca …calm down Erza." – Lucy laughed nervously – "We called the police after that, I'm sure they got what they deserved." – She said and Erza nodded.

"I'm glad that you're okay but .. you should be more careful Lucy, things could be the same in Japan you know." – Gray said and crossed his arms. _Thanks God that Flame-brain was there. _He thought.

"Yeah, I know." – She nodded. She didn't tell neither her parents nor Sting and Rogue about that incident, because she didn't want to make them worry. Lucy and Natsu became friends after that, but they just saw each other twice or three times a week, because their study schedules were different. Though they still hanged out sometimes at weekends.

Now Lucy remembered that Natsu had told her about his school once, but she forgot its name. She called him when she was about to go back to Japan and they said that they would reunite again when he came back as well. Natsu had a very unique outlook with his pink hair and black eyes, he was handsome and funny in his own way, he was kind, strong, and very determined when he wanted something. That's why Lucy admired him.

Now all her friends were here, her life was back to normal from all those drama that happened a few weeks ago, Lucy felt kinda relieved, although she couldn't shake off the feeling that it was just a calm before the storm.

* * *

**[At the basketball court]**

"A party?" – Sting raised an eyebrow at Orga, they were practicing basketball for a sport congress that would happen in spring.

"Yeah, they're going to celebrate the return of Natsu Dragneel this weekend, all Fairies will be there. It's been a long time, I guess." – Orga said, then passed the ball to Rogue. He jumped and threw the ball to the basket.

"Tsk … They make it sound like he hasn't returned for 10 years." – Sting rolled his eyes and told his friends to take a break.

"But now he has come back, we might as well have a little gift for him." – He thought then said, smirking. Rogue arched his eyebrow, that idiot was up to something again.

"Who wants to crash the party?" – He asked eagerly, making them look at one another but before they could nod their head in agree, Rogue cut them short.

"Are you sure you wanna do that? Lucy probably will be there too, she won't let you get away with that." – Rogue said calmly.

_Oh right, I forgot. _Sting thought.

"Is she really scary? Sting looks like he's scared of her." - Mamura asked innocently

"Terrified." – Rogue nodded, then answered him swiftly before Sting could open his mouth.

"I'm not terrified of her!" – He glared at Rogue and Rogue inwardly rolled his eyes.

"Really? I saw her smack you and you didn't do anything about it." – Rufus stated wisely.

"Are you serious? I can't hit a girl." – Sting groaned, making a face.

"That's not the problem, the thing is she hit you and you just kept grinning like a masochist." – Rufus retorted back and they busted out laughing, even Rogue was snickering at him behind his palm. Sting was red like a tomato, he was kinda careless with his reputation when he was around her.

"Shut up." - He emphasized his words to make them stop laughing.

"Question, Sting: why don't you two let us talk to her, she seems nice and it's not like we will do anything bad to her, you know." – Rufus offered and they nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, why don't you let me talk to them?" – A voice appeared behind Sting, which almost made him jump out of his skin. Sting turned around, then gave her a look of surprise.

"Lucy? What are you doing here?

"Watching you practice, of course." – She smiled and quickly passed by him, moving to stand in front of Orga before he could stop her.

"Hi, I'm Lucy, a friend of Sting and Rogue, nice to meet you." – She extended her hand. Orga was dumbfounded, this is the first time a girl initiative talked to him, most of them were scared of him anyway. Before Orga could shake her hand and say 'hi' back, Rufus shoved him aside and took her hand, kissing it slightly.

"Hey..." – Orga cried out.

"Nice to meet you, too, miss Lucy." – He said then winked at her, making her blush.

"Oi don't touch her." – Sting yelled but the boys ignored him, they were busy shaking hands with Lucy and asking her tons of question in their mind.

"Have you got a boyfriend yet?"

"How long have you been friends with them?"

"Do you like basketball?"

"Does Sting treat you bad? 'Cuz I'll treat you ... a million times better than him."

Lucy laughed softly, then answered them friendly. Sting crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, Rogue put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, they won't hurt her, I can see they get along pretty well." – Rogue said calmly.

He was afraid that brutal and aggressive Tigers like them would get Lucy in trouble when he saw her coming near them, but … it could be either the fact that she was Sting and Rogue's friend so that those idiots were kind to her, or it was her own charm. Either way, it seemed like the two of them didn't have to worry about her safety when she was near their teammates. Sting sighed and let loose.

"Yeah."

"Okay, time's up, get back to work." – Sting called them.

"All right, later, Lucy" – They waved at her and started to practice again. Sting moved towards her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, I heard that you guys are going to have a party this weekend?" – Lucy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, to celebrate Natsu's come back, it'll be great ... I can't wait!" – She smiled widely.

"You're also gonna be there?" – Rogue asked, standing next to her on the right.

"What do you mean I'm also gonna be there? Of course I'm gonna be there, he's my friend and I love to party, in case you forgot." – Lucy patted his chest with the back of her hand.

"Your friend? You've known each other before?" – Sting asked, knitting his eyebrows.

"Yeah, we met in America." – She said and they blinked – "He's very nice to me and he's funny, too. I like him." – She stated and they dropped their jaws.

"As a friend!" – She added and laughed at their face.

"Oh…" - Sting said, feeling relieved. It's not like it was a big deal whether they knew each other or not, but Sting couldn't shake off the insecure feeling in his mind. Rogue noticed it and immediately changed the topic.

"Okay we have to get back to practice, later, Luce." – He patted her head and she grinned widely at him, Rogue quickly dragged Sting away from her. The idiot was over - reacting, he could see that.

* * *

**[Sting's house]**

"Urrrrggggg … it's so boring, Rogue." – Sting groaned. He was lying on Rogue's bed, in Rogue's room, bothering the black-haired guy when he was doing his homework.

"Go watch TV, play games or something and leave me alone, Sting." – Rogue said to drive him away, but it had no effect on Sting.

"TV is boring, games are boring, and something is boring, too." – He grumbled.

"I wish Lucy hadn't come to that party, we could hang out. It's Friday, after all." – Rogue didn't say anything, letting him talk to himself.

_I wonder what's she doing. Is she having fun? Does that stripper annoy her? Do some punks flirt with her? Is there something going on between her and Natsu-san?_

He thought then grunted and Rogue rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Hey ... Lucy didn't say that we couldn't be there, right?" – He said then got up. Rogue stopped whatever he was doing, then turned around half way to look at him.

"Are you nuts? It's a Fairy Tail's party, of course we can't be there even though she didn't say it."

"Aww c'mon, Lucy said that we shouldn't make a big deal out of the hostility between two guilds, you know." – Sting said and Rogue arched his eyebrow at Sting, who was grinning like a mad-man.

That was a perfect excuse to be there without turning Lucy to his bad side, after what happened in Tenrou Island, Sting just wanted to be near her all the time and he knew that he had to make her his, he had to try no matter what the result would be.

Rogue sighed then shook his head.

"Fine but … don't cause any trouble." – He warned Sting.

"Tsk ... you said like you don't care. But you're curious, too, right? About her and Natsu-san." - Sting rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." - Rogue said indifferently.

So they changed their clothes, grabbed their coat, and walked out of the door, but not before Sting wrote some messages to his teammates.

* * *

**[15 minutes later]**

"Are you sure they're gonna let us in?" – Rufus asked, he pulled out an elastic string to tie his hair.

"They invited everyone so if they don't let us in, they are discriminatory. Besides, Lucy is in there, she'll welcome us." – Sting smirked.

"Yeah, but if you start a fight or Orga starts singing, she'll kick us out faster than a rocket." – Rogue deadpanned. They laughed out loud and Orga turned to glare at him.

"My singing ability is just fine, thank you very much." Sting snickered on that.

"Don't mess around, you'll have plenty of chances to play with those Fairies but not tonight." - Sting said and all of them nodded.

There were more than 20 members of Sabertooth who were following Sting, his intention was to call just his teammates, but thanks to the Internet, Twitter, and Facebook, there they were. Sting pushed the door open and the bass of dancing music immediately beat their chests.

They were in Fairy Tail's bar, the biggest bar in Fiore Academy. It was decorated in Western style and full of people, he could see some faces were from Mermaid Heel, some guys were flirting with girls, they were probably from Blue Pegasus. Screaming, cheering, booing, laughing people and music blended together and he couldn't imagine anything else more chaotic. Sabertooth members walked in and they looked like they were about to engage in battle or something. Some conscious people – who didn't put alcohol into their system yet – recognized them and they immediately stopped what they were doing.

* * *

"Hey Mira, have you seen Lucy?" – Natsu sat on the stool, looking around to find his friend.

"Oh Lucy, she went to the restroom with Levi." – Mira smiled. Mirajane Strauss aka Mira was a former member of Fairy Tail from four years ago. She had a younger brother – Elfman Strauss, who had graduated last year, and a baby sister – Lisanna Strauss, who was now a member of F1. This bar was owned by her family and besides being a bartender, sometimes a singer, she was also a famous model.

Natsu nodded, then grabbed his beer. The party was going well, it was fun, that's what he was missing when he was still in America. It felt so good to be home, with his father and friends. Seeing Lucy again was a very nice surprise, he missed her too. Although they only met a few times, it was like they had been friends since forever and he liked her, more than she knew.

"Hey Pink *hic* come *hic* fight me, I want to punch *hic* your ugly *hic* face!" – Gray said and struggled to keep his balance by putting an arm around Natsu, but it slipped. They both fell and Gray was on top of him. His lips were near Natsu's cheek and a strain of saliva was about to drop on the pink-haired guy's face.

"Get off me, Popsicle…" – Natsu cried out, tried to push him away and stood up but froze when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"W.. what… are y..you doing to Gray-sama?" – She stammered with a red face. It was Juvia.

"A… Are you… two… dare... in public? AAARRGGGGG" – Juvia shouted, then covered her eyes, her imagination had a chance to work again.

Juvia Lockser, the newest member of Fairy Tail, transferred from Bosco. She fell in love with Gray at the first sight and couldn't help but stalked him ever since, Gray still didn't realize her feeling yet (or perhaps he chose to ignore it?)

"Okay, Juvia, stop that right there!" – Natsu yelled then kicked Gray away from him and Gray lost his consciousness.

"He's drunk, we fell, and that's gross." He cried out and made a disgusted face.

"How dare you kick Gray-sama like that! Gray-sama, wake up, are you okay?" – She glared at him then tried to wake Gray up by shaking him. Natsu waved his hand then walked away.

_Better get back to the party. _He thought then looked around to find Gajeel to have an arm wrestling, but … he bumped into someone, he muttered a 'Sorry' but regretted it immediately. That's not someone he wanted to apologize to, ever.

"Sting Eucliffe?" – He said coldly and the noise died down.

"Oh, Natsu Dragneel, good to see you again, it's been a while, right?" – Sting smirked.

"What are you doing here?" – They both crossed their arms, Natsu with his narrowed eyes and Sting with his usual smug expression.

"To enjoy the party of course. As far as I know, Fairy Tail invited everyone, so … that's why we're here." – He said, moved to walk around, pretending like he was surveying the decoration of the bar.

"You and your friends are not welcomed here." – Natsu said calmly.

"Oh? Isn't that a little bit unfair, I didn't hear people said that Sabertooth's members couldn't be here, right guys?" – He said and Tigers cheered in agreement, but everyone else still didn't utter a word.

It's been a long time since Fairy Tail and Sabertooth's last confrontation. Although the trip to Tenrou Island had eased their tension to the acceptable level, that was before Natsu came back. So in short, both guilds' members were close to friends, but still remained rivals in many levels and that's not gonna change any time soon. Natsu gave him a point look, he walked to stand in front of Sting and spoke quietly so Sting was the only one who could hear him. Natsu's fists clenched, but his face was calm.

"Fine, but if you pick a quarrel with anybody in Fairy Tail, that would be the last thing you do in here, Sting Eucliffe, are we clear?"

Sting's smirk widened – "Crystal." – They were staring at each other for a minute when a voice resounded.

"Okay, the show is over, get back to the party people." – Gajeel's voice echoed through the bar and everybody got back to having fun. It seemed like everything was back to good.

"What's going on here?" – Lucy moved towards them and her eyes widened when she saw Sting, Rogue, and their friends. Levi and Gajeel were following closely behind, Gajeel arched his eyebrow but Rogue just gave him a bored look. Natsu moved to hold her arms, blocking her way out of Sting's sight, he didn't know why, he just followed his instinct, but too bad for him, Lucy already saw them. Sting and Rogue were looking daggers at him.

"Sting? Guys? What are you doing here?" – Lucy asked, smiling and waving at the boys.

"You know them?" – Natsu asked with a tone of surprise.

_Oh he didn't know? _Sting thought. _Better explain to him shall we? _He looked back at Rogue and they shared a look. Rogue sneered, then nodded slightly.

"Luccccyyyy, we're here to join the party of course, your friend has been very kind to us so far." – Sting said, then he and Rogue moved to stand near Lucy. Sting put an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek while Rogue held her waist and kissed her hair. They both smirked at Natsu who looked like he was about to bust, Gajeel's face was unreadable, and Levi blinked; she felt like she was in a dramatic scene in one of her favorite novel.

"Stay away from her!" - Natsu almost shouted at them. He came closer to give them a piece of his mind, but Lucy quickly put her hand on his chest to calm him down. The duo chuckled at him.

"Wait, wait, wait, Natsu, it's okay, they're my friends." – She said before Natsu had a chance to protest.

"How do you know them?" – Natsu frowned and asked again.

"We're childhood friends, we've known each other for a veeerrry loooooong time ~" Sting said in his sing-song voice. He was enjoying it, it was good to see that Natsu Dragneel was still hot-tempered like before.

"Now, if you don't mind, we have to steal her for a minute, have fun, guys." – He bid his friends a goodbye and Rogue dragged her away.

"Later, Natsu!" – Lucy waved at him.

"Childhood friends, huh?" – Gajeel murmured behind Natsu. He sighed, his composure was back to normal.

"As long as they don't do something funny, then it's fine." – Natsu looked at them until they disappeared into the crowd and loud noise rose again. He didn't like the over - familiar attitude those two just expressed towards Lucy. It annoyed him, but he guessed that couldn't be helped. He didn't have the reason to part them away from Lucy, not when they were her childhood friends. Natsu suddenly turned around and shouted at Gajeel.

"Gajeel, I want a rematch, my arm slipped last time." – Gajeel snorted.

"Tsk, not now, I'm busy." – He took Levi's hand and walked away.

"Oh, you're chickening out to suck face of your girlfriend, that's gross and not very manly, you know." – Natsu mocked, grinning like he had just won a lottery. He knew how to get under this guy's skin.

"I don't chicken out." – Gajeel gritted his teeth.

"Then I want a rematch." – Natsu's eyes narrowed

"Fine, if that make you shut up, Pinky."

"Don't call me that."

"Whatever, Pinky."

Levi looked at them and sighed, just like the old times. _Would they ever stop?_

* * *

Sting and Rogue walked closer to Lucy when the trio stopped. Sting glared at every guy who eyed Lucy from the top to the bottom.

"I thought you guys didn't want to be here, why didn't you tell me when I was at the basketball court?"

"Well we just felt like it when we were at home, so we decided to come at the 91 minutes." – Rogue smiled – "You look pretty by the way."

Lucy was wearing a pair of light blue jeans shorts, hugging her legs perfectly, and a white sheer shirt with black collar that was tucked into her shorts. The sleeves rolled to her elbows and she picked cowboy boots to complete her outfit. Her hair were tied with a blue ribbon.

Lucy blushed at the compliment and smiled at him – "Thanks, Rogue, you two look handsome, too".

Rogue and Sting's clothes were just casual: black shirt, denim pants for Rogue and white stripe shirt with blue jeans for Sting, they both wore black converses All Star. It's a Fairy Tail's party after all, they didn't like something's too fancy, too motley. A party to them means beer, music, fight, and fun.

"Is this me or these punks are stripping you with their eyes, like … they haven't seen a girl wearing shorts their whole life." – Sting glared at another boy and the poor boy looked away in fear. Well, not that you could see the Lucy Love (/Heartfilia) wearing something less modest than uniform everyday, they had to take the chance, right? Beauty is an unlimited resource and wasting it means guilt, that's what they say.

"Give them a break Sting, it's normal at a party like this. Erza received even worse ogling, but she didn't mind, you can't even imagine the way they look at her with her super short cocktail dress. They were all having nosebleed when she walked by." – Lucy snickered at the scene which happened just a while ago, it was quite funny actually and from that Lucy discovered Erza's new super power: killing people without using her sword, just by her outfit.

They stopped at the bar, Mira was serving a group of Blue Pegasus' members, so they waited.

"Well, not me… " – Sting looked around and smirked, putting on his usual smug face.

"Oh yeah? Just wait till you see her." – She said and Sting's smirk widened. He leaned forward to the level of her ear and whispered in it, tugging a strain of her hair behind her ear, his hot breath fanned her cheek, his eyes fixed on the person across the bar who had red hair.

"You're the only one I will ever have a nosebleed for if you wear the same short red cocktail dress that hugs your curve flawlessly, splits to your middle thigh, exposes the back as Erza's."

Lucy's eyes widened and by instinct she spun around to find Erza. The girl was sitting at the opposite side of the bar, talking to Jellal. She grinned at the couple and turned back to arch an eyebrow at him.

"Real smooth huh? Tell me how many girls have heard you said that?"

"Just you." – He shrugged.

"Not even the girl you're having your eyes on?" – She asked and narrowed her eyes slightly. _Nice one Luce. _She told herself, she felt a little embarrassed when she heard him said that, so she changed the subject to cover her blush, even though the subject was not very likeable to her.

"Well… that's the different case." – _Although I will also have a nosebleed if _she _wore that dress too, she's the same person after all. _He chuckled at the thought and Lucy frowned. She found his amusement annoying so she kicked his stool, made him fall flat on his butt.

"What the hell, Luce?" – He cried out and she covered her mouth to restrain her laugh.

"Ooops, sorry, my leg slipped." – She grinned mockingly then looked at Rogue over her shoulder, he was chuckling, watching their exchange closely. She took his hand and pulled him out of his seat.

"C'mon, dance with me, Rogue." – Rogue blinked. Dancing was not something he was very fond of.

"Heyyy, don't just leave me here like this, somebody from your guild might kidnap me, you know." – Sting stood up, brushing off some invisible dust on this pants and shouted after her.

"Sorry, don't care." – She shouted back and walked into the crowd. Sting shook his head and sat back on the stool.

"Can I get you something?" – Mira's voice interrupted his silence.

"Sweet beer, please." – He said and she grabbed a glass, pouring him some red liquid.

"Childhood friends?" – She asked and he nodded.

"So have I heard. I also heard that you're a scary guy, but as far as I can see, you're different from what they say." – He looked back at her and she smiled. Sting gave her a skeptical look and she smiled again, this time a little bit enigmatically.

"I know the look that you gave her. My boyfriend – Laxus - has the same look whenever I see him." – She giggled when Sting blushed slightly at the implying.

"N..no, we're …not …like … that." – He stuttered and she shrugged.

"Like what?" – She said innocently and he knew she was teasing him.

"Nothing" – He sighed, then lifted his glass again, looked back at the dance floor to find Lucy and Rogue. Mira giggled and turned to another customer.

* * *

"Errr Lucy? How could we dance when there isn't any music." – Rogue asked, Lucy was looking around, trying to find the DJ.

"Where the hell is him? We got a DJ and here I can't hear any music since you guys walked in." – Lucy grumbled. – "And his songs suck, too." Well not like people cared anyway, they just need something to beat in their ears real loudly.

"Oh, there he is." – Lucy said and narrowed her eyes at the dark-blond messy hair guy who was flirting with some girls from Mermaid Heel. She approached him and Rogue followed closely behind. They hired him here to bring music, not pay him to flirt with girls.

"Hey!" – Lucy called, but he didn't notice her.

"HEY!" – She called again, but he ignored her again, Lucy pulled his sleeve and finally got his attention. He was having a moment with these beauties and some kid had the gut to interrupt him, he turned around, annoyed. – "What?" – But his eyebrows stretched when he saw who was standing in front of him. He smiled sweetly again.

"My my, what a goddess." – He moved nearer and grabbed her hand.

"How may I help you, my lady?" – He looked at her, trying to mesmerize her with his black eyes, but it didn't work. Lucy just sweatdropped at his change of attitude, she tried to heave her hand back, but he didn't let go. He was about to kiss it, yet another arm yanked Lucy's hand away from his grasp, Rogue pulled Lucy closer to him, glaring deadly at the guy with his red eyes.

"Stay away from her." – He said coldly. The guy flinched slightly, but regained his composure quickly. He smiled civilly.

"Oh flower had pot already, sorry if I crossed the line." – Rogue didn't say anything, just standing between him and Lucy.

"N...no, it's fine, we're friends, he doesn't mean anything, really" – She said and tried to ease the tension. The guy looked back at Rogue and smirked secretly. _Possessive much? _He thought.

"By the way, could you stop flirting and give us some music please, that's what you're here right Mr …?" – Lucy said, hands on her hips, back to business again.

"Hibiki Lates from Blue Pegasus." – He said and brought out his hand. Lucy eyed his hand suspiciously.

"Don't worry I just want a handshake." - He snickered.

"Oh." – Lucy mumbled and relaxed again. – "Nice to meet you, I'm Lucy, from Fairy Tail."

"I know, you're quite popular, you know that…" – He smiled at her, then looked at Rogue and diverted his hand in front of him, expecting a handshake, too. – "Rogue Cheney from Sabertooth, right? Nice to meet you, too."

Rogue inwardly rolled his eyes then spun around and walked away, not even spared him another glance.

"That's rude." – Hibiki murmured.

"Sorry, he's always like that. Anyway, here's my playlist, hit it." – She gave him her Iphone and he nodded. That was not a suggestion, it was a command. He plugged in and played it.

* * *

"Hey Rogue, ROGUE!" – Lucy shouted his name until she caught up with him, however, the music had started and he couldn't hear her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" – She grabbed his arm

_It's going down, I'm yelling timber_  
_You better move, you better dance_  
_Let's make a night you won't remember_  
_I'll be the one you won't forget_

Rogue raised his eyebrows at her.

"Nothing, I'm fine." – He smiled and assured her.

"Are you sure? Tell me if something's wrong, okay?" – She insisted and he smiled, then rubbed her hair.

"Music is playing, dance, Rogue." – She pulled his arm and began to shake her body.

"I don't dance, Lucy." – People were dancing all around him and Rogue was the only one standing like a log. It's kinda awkward if you asked him, he didn't dance. He didn't know how, actually.

_Swing your partner round and round__  
__End of the night, it's going down_  
_One more shot, another round_  
_End of the night, it's going down_

_Swing your partner round and round__  
__End of the night, it's going down_  
_One more shot, another round_  
_End of the night, it's going down_

"You're so stiff, it's a party, what are you doing here if you don't dance!" - Lucy laughed lightly at him - "C'mon, show me what you got." – She stepped back, put one hand in the air, sway her hips around, and smirked at him.

Lucy shook her head to the music, her hair followed her movement, colorful light beamed her face, giving her a mysterious aura. She blew a kiss at him and Rogue smiled, the way she was dancing was so lively, the exact opposite to him. She was always like that, so different from him. He was cold, he was rigid, he was rude, but Lucy … she was warm, she was tender, and she was kind. Maybe that's why he was attracted to her.

It seemed like she was tired of him standing there, staring at her like that, so she moved to draw him closer, took his hands and swung him around.

_It's going down, I'm yelling timber_  
_You better move, you better dance_  
_Let's make a night you won't remember_  
_I'll be the one you won't forget_

She laughed again when he tried to keep his balance. She moved back and forth, trying to engage him into dancing. Well, his body was moving, but not because of the music. It was because of her, so her efforts still didn't work.

She spun him around and around, almost made him feel dizzy, then pushed him away, but kept his hand in hers and pulled him closer immediately. His body hit hers and he blushed slightly at the contact. She laughed out loud, then put her arms around his neck to keep him in place and continued to make (more like force) him to dance.

"Dance, Rogue, for me." - She shouted through the loud music.

_Swing your partner round and round_  
_End of the night, it's going down_  
_One more shot, another round_  
_End of the night, it's going down_

_Swing your partner round and round_  
_End of the night, it's going down_  
_One more shot, another round_  
_End of the night, it's going down_

She swayed again and there was no way he couldn't stand still with her arms clamp around him like this...

"Seeeee~, you're dancing!" – She beamed at his reluctant movement.

Although he still didn't feel very comfortable, he had to admit it was fun. For a moment, he forgot all the things around him, all the trouble, all the thought, it was just him and her, dancing goofily like two idiots. Rogue smiled, his arms hugged her waist, keeping her closer, the warmth from his hand spread all over her back and Lucy felt her heart was racing again. He swung her around, she was taken off guard and almost fell, but he kept her balance. They both laughed at each other, seemed like coming to this party wasn't a bad idea after all.

* * *

"Beer, please." – A voice said and a figure appeared beside Sting.

"Having fun?" – He looked to the right and asked him.

"Yeah." – Rogue grabbed the glass and answered.

"I didn't know you like dancing?" – Sting arched an eyebrow at him.

"I don't, Lucy made me but it was fun anyway." – He admitted.

"Where is she?"

"She was talking to her friends" – He paused then looked at Sting.

"Do you think _he_ likes her?"

"I'm not sure, perhaps, according to the way he looked at us when we kissed her, it's the same way you looked at the DJ guy when he tried to kiss her hand…" - Sting shrugged.

Rogue didn't say anything, just stared at him.

"What are you gonna do if he does like her?"

"Nothing." – He shrugged again and Rogue raised his eyebrows.

"Will you ever tell her about your feelings? Do it as soon as possible, before it's too late, and if you won't, you're gonna regret it for the rest of your life." – He said, loudly enough to reach Sting's ear through the loud music.

"I will, I'm just waiting for the right moment, but I will." – Sting said firmly. Yeah, he finally decided that he would tell her, everything, about his past and about his feelings for her. Whether she accepted it or not, it was fine, at least he had followed his heart.

"Where are you going?" – Sting asked when Rogue read a message from his phone, then stood up.

"To the airport, father's home."

"I'll go with you." – Sting was about to leave too, but Rogue stopped him.

"It's okay, stay with Luce, we'll meet at home, tell her I'll go first." – Rogue bid him a goodbye and left, leaving Sting watching his retreat figure.

"So you do have feelings for her." – Mira suddenly said behind him and Sting groaned.

"You eavesdropped on our exchange?"

"I didn't, you just talked too loud, somebody might have heard you, too." – Mira smiled at his grumpy face.

"Want some romantic moments with her? I can give you that, how about a dance?"

Sting looked kinda surprised.

"Why?"

"Why what?" – Mira asked, the smile never slipped from her face.

"Why would you do that? You barely know me, we're not friends."

"But Lucy is my friend, she's happy when she's with you guys, I can see that in her eyes." - She then walked away, but not before she looked back at Sting and said.

"Ask her to dance before someone else gets the chance." – She winked. He blinked then looked around to find Lucy and quickly approached her when he saw Natsu was talking to her.

* * *

"They have two cats? I have one too, his name's Happy" – Natsu gave her a toothy grin, they were talking about her _childhood friends _a.k.a Sting and Rogue. According to her, they seemed not so bad, they treated her well, too well actually. But he didn't like the fact that they were so close together, it proved another thing, though: that Natsu only just met her, almost a year ago. A mere year couldn't be compared with ten years, there's so much about her that he still didn't know. She told him once in America that she had two best friends in the world, her childhood friends, but he had assumed that _they _were _girls_. Who would have thought that her friends would be _boys_, Sabertooth's members, by the way.

"Yeah, you three could be good friends, you guys have a lot in common." – Lucy beamed and Natsu made a face.

"I don't think so."

"Why?"

"You know … The animosity status between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail originate in our animosity from the first place." – Natsu said.

"Oh." – Lucy nodded and thought for a moment. _Maybe I could do something about it._

She was about to ask him something when she heard the tune of piano is playing.

"Hey, it's my favorite song." – She smiled, Mira was on the stage, she looked at Lucy and winked at her. Mira has an angel voice if you ask her.

"What song is it?" – Natsu asked, looking at her radiant smile.

"_True colors_ by Michelle Chamuel, she's obsessed with this song right from when she heard it on The Voice US." – Sting answered before she got a chance. Lucy turned around and grinned at him, he smiled back then grabbed her hand and walked away from Natsu, leaving him dumbfounded.

"Hey..." He shouted at them, but Sting ignored him.

"W ... wait Sting, I was talking to him, that's rude."

Sting led her to the center of the dance floor, he took her arms and put them around his neck, then held her waist.

"Dance with me, I had to take you away before he stole you." – Sting said quietly and she laughed softly.

_You with the sad eyes_  
_Don't be discouraged_  
_Oh I realize_  
_It's hard to take courage_  
_In a world full of people_  
_You can lose sight of it all_  
_And the darkness inside you_  
_Can make you feel so small_

_But I see your true colors_  
_Shining through_  
_I see your true colors_  
_And that's why I love you_  
_So don't be afraid to let them show_  
_Your true colors_  
_True colors are beautiful_  
_Like a rainbow_

They looked into each other's eyes, blue met chocolate-brown ones and it was like nothing else in this world mattered anymore. That is the magical power of music and feelings when they blend together. Lucy felt a tug at her heart, she smiled sweetly at him and he smiled back. Lucy trailed her middle finger from his eye, down his cheek then touched his lips, leaving a hot path on Sting's face, she mumbled his name.

"Sting?"

"Huhm?" – He hummed, looking into her eyes, trying to figure it out what she was thinking.

"Can I ask you something?" – He nodded slightly.

"Does _she _make you feel happy?" – _Do I make you feel happy? _She asked quietly, Lucy really didn't know why she asked that, she was still trying to understand all of her chaotic feelings lately when she was near him and the question just popped in her mind. Somehow, the answer seemed important to her.

"Yes, she makes me really … really happy." – _Truly happy. _Sting knew who she was talking about.

_Show me a smile then_  
_Don't be unhappy, can't remember_  
_When I last saw you laughing_  
_If this world makes you crazy_  
_And you've taken all you can bear_  
_You call me up_  
_Because you know I'll be there_

_And I'll see your true colors_  
_Shining through_  
_I see your true colors_  
_I see your true colors_  
_And that's why I love you_  
_So don't be afraid to let them show_  
_Your true colors_

"Is she … the only one … who could make you feel happy?" – Lucy bit her lips and looked at the ground.

_Yes, she's the only one. _He stroked her hair then lifted her chin to look at her face again. _Are you feeling insecure Lucy? _She was uncomfortable with the question, he could see it._ Does that mean you feel the same way about me like I feel about you?_. He was not sure, he's still not sure, but …

"Of course not, I still have my family… and I still have you. You make me feel happy too" - He didn't want her to feel self-doubting, whatever the reason was.

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." – She blushed at his words and he smiled at her cuteness

"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice ..." – He kissed her cheek and hugged her tight like he was afraid that she would disappeared if he didn't hug her tighter _… But falling in love with you was beyond my control. _

_I can see your true colors_  
_And that's why I love you_  
_So don't be afraid_  
_To let them show_  
_Your true colors_  
_True colors_  
_True colors_  
_Are Beautiful like the Rainbow_

"Thanks to you, I can be myself when I'm around you. You make me smile, you make me feel peace. You always make me feel happy Lucy." – _You can see through me Luce. _He murmured through her hair and she smiled again. That was enough for her, knowing that she also could be _that person,_ too, the person who could make him feel happy. She leaned on his chest, feeling his heart's beat though her hand.

_Even if we can't be lovers, we will always be friends … and that's all the matter. _He thought, but felt a pang of disappointment in his heart. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. _Please … don't run away from me when I give you my heart completely. _

_I love you Lucy, always have and always will._

* * *

**[Meanwhile]**

"Rogue, good to see you again, son." – Weisslogia patted the brunet's back slightly. – "You came to pick me up, how thoughtful. Where is Sting?"

"I told him I would come alone father, he's ... busy." - Rogue said carefully and the man nodded.

Weisslogia had just got down from the airplane about 5 minutes ago. They were standing at the airport, ready to go home, but then Rogue noticed a woman following closely behind his father. He titled his head to look at her and his eyes widened.

_Golden hair, green eyes… She looks like…_

"Oh, I forgot, Rogue, meet your future step-mother, Hazumi Weisslogia. We're engaged." - He said and the woman smiled.

_… Mom… _Rogue had to use all of his control so his jaw wouldn't drop to the ground.

_… Sting won't like this…_

**End of chapter 9**

* * *

**The first song I used was **_**Timber **_by _**Ke$ha ft Pitbull**_

**The second song was **_**True Colors**_by_**Phils Collin**_** but I used the covered version by **_**Michelle Chamuel**_**. She sang beautifully and I-just-had to put it in this chapter :D**

**It's 11 PM right now and I'm so tired so sorry for the errors again :D**

**I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you guys :D**

**I'll see you next time.**

**Have a good day/night.**


	10. Chapter 10 - A father's heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to my Aunt, she just passed away last week after womb cancer battle, leaving her son who is also one of my friends against the world by himself.**

**Rest in peace Aunt - We love you so much.**

**Pure**

**Chapter 10 - A father's heart  
**

"So ... Sting, have you found out what college you're going to join at the end of the year?" – Hazumi said, smiling.

…

"Sting, answer your mother question" – Weisslogia said firmly. Sting glanced coldly at his father.

"She's not my mother" – He murmured then got back to his steak. It was a usual (well not so usual) Saturday and Weisslogia family was having dinner with the new future woman of the house.

"Yes, she is, we're engaged and she'll soon take care of you so you'd better get used to it."

Sting didn't say anything, he snorted in disgust …

* * *

**[20 hours ago]**

_"Thank you for taking me back to my dorm, I'm glad that you came. Tell Rogue that I said good night" – Lucy beamed._

_She really did a pretty good job as enjoying both company from Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. Nothing bad happened, although she didn't have the chance to talk much to Natsu because Sting just kept dragging her around the bar to avoid him. She couldn't do much about that but shaking her head at him, she wanted to ask Sting about him and Natsu but maybe not today, the time wasn't right. After that, he escorted her back to her room, it was already 10 PM._

_"No problem" – He said then kissed her forehead – "Good night Luce". She waved at him then closed the door. He sighed in content, smiling but the vibration from his phone interrupted the smile from stretching wider. It was a text from Rogue._

'Go home, now'.

Geeze, bossy. _Sting rolled his eyes and quickly left Fairy Tail building. Father must have been home a while ago, Sting kinda missed him although he didn't express much. Weisslogia was actually not his biological father, he was Sting's step father. He married Sting's mother when Sting was five. Wesslogia was an orphan, living in the orphanage his whole life, he became a man without love from parents but from sisters at the local church in Bosco. He started his career as a business man in Fiore when he was 26 and met Sting's mother three years later. He loved Sting like his own son and Sting looked up to him so much._

_Sting got home 15 minutes later, he was about to push the door but it suddenly opened._

_Rogue stood there, looking at him expressionless like usual but Sting could detect a trail of worry in his eyes._

_"Father's home, he's in the living room" – He said and stepped aside so Sting could walk in._

_"Is something wrong Rogue?" – Sting asked him in confusion._

_"Yes, but … take it easy okay?". Rogue pushed Sting to the living room slightly. Sting frowned at him quizzically but didn't say anything, he grinned at his father._

_"Dad, you're … home" – He halted when he saw the woman sitting next to Weisslogia._

_"Aaah, Sting, come come … It's good to see you again" – Weisslogia stood up and hugged his son, Sting's eyes still glued to the woman._

_"Sting, I'd like to introduce you to your future mother, Hazumi Wesslogia. We're engaged a week ago"._

_Hazumi smiled at him, she then brought out her hand, waiting for him to shake it._

_"Nice to meet you son"_

_His eyes were wide opened, he suddenly felt hard to breath and everything around him darkened._ She … mother? _The woman looked ridiculously like his mother with golden hair, green eyes, high cheekbones, she wore a blue sundress – his mother favorite color. Weisslogia looked at him worriedly, this is the reaction that he had expected._

_"I thought you said you loved mom?" - Sting asked coldly._

_"I do ... I mean I did but I think it's time to move on" - He replied carefully._

_"Move one? By choosing someone looks exactly like my mom? Engage without telling us first? That's how you move on?"_

_"Sting, I'm sorry I know it's a bit rush but … I think it's time for you to have-"_

_"WHO THE HECK IS SHE?" – Sting screamed at his father and the woman flinched slightly. He glared fiercely at Hazumi and Weisslogia quickly pulled the woman behind him._

_"Sting, calm down" – Rogue put a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off._

_"Sting, listen to me, we-"_

_"YOU'RE ENGAGED, WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS?" – He was angry, no … he was furious. Weisslogia was silent, he waited for Sting to chill out patiently, he knew this announcement would shock his son to the core._

_"Sting, low your voice, just listen to him" - Rogue said, trying to calm him down._

_"Get-her-out, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE" – Sting shouted one last time then rushed at the woman, Weisslogia stepped back and Rogue moved to stand in front of him, pushing him back._

_"STING, CALM THE FUCKING DOWN" – Rogue yelled at him. Sting was stunned for a moment, he hadn't heard Rogue talked so loud like this for a long time. He glared at him but stopped nonetheless, Weisslogia looked at his son and wondered was this too soon to do this? But there's no turning back now so he closed his eyes and said slowly._

_"Sting, I know this is a shock for you but let me explain-"_

_"I don't want to hear any bullshit of your explanation"_

_"Watch your mouth young man" – Weisslogia gritted his teeth._

_"Father, I think it's the best to talk in the morning, it's late now" – Rogue said and Wesslogia sighed then nodded. Sting didn't wait for another word from them, he turned around and went to his room, slamming the door closed._

_"Thank you Rogue, go back to bed, we'll talk tomorrow" – He patted Rogue's head slightly, Rogue glanced at the woman. He thought then nodded at his father._

She isn't seem scared of Sting very much.

_"Good night dad"_

_"Good night Rogue"_

Tomorrow is gonna be a long day.

* * *

**[The next morning, at Lucy's dorm] **

Huhmm … so warm. _Lucy murmured in her sleep, her bed had never been so warm like this before. She snuggled closer to her bolster, hand roamed all over it. _Goshhh, why is this so warm? Huhmmm… so comfortable … wait, it's not very soft like usual, it's … kinda hard, bigger too … but it's so smooth… feel so good ... like … skin …. Skin? _Lucy's eyes snapped open and were greeted by a … torso._

_"Morning beautiful"_

_"WHAT THE F-" – She was about to scream but the person covered her mouth in panic._

_"Sssshhhh, it's still early, don't wake people up or we'll get into trouble Luce"_

_"What are you doing here Sting and how did you get into my room?" – Lucy frowned at him, Sting sat on her bed, grinning at her, shirtless._

_"And put on a shirt you pervert" – She grabbed her pillow and hit his face._

_"Okay okay, just a minute, geeze" – He chuckled. She waited for him to dress correctly then asked again._

_"How did you get into my room, you know that you're gonna be disciplinary if the supervisor knows you're here right?"_

_"I got in by the windows, you should have made a better lock you know and don't worry, nobody knows I'm here, except Rogue" – He shrugged._

_"What are you doing here?"_

_His eyes were low to the ground._

_"I don't want to stay at home now". Lucy furrowed her brows._

_"Hey, what's wrong?"_

_After what happened last night, Sting couldn't sleep without having a nightmare again. He almost screamed in frustration for the whole town could hear so he got up, sent Rogue a message then broke in to Lucy's dorm. He took off his shirt but kept his pants on, he didn't want Lucy losing her head when she found him naked in her bed then sneaked into her blanket and hugged her tightly. He finally could get some sleep and push the woman out of his mind for a while, thanks to her warmth._

_Sting rubbed his eyes tiredly then told Lucy the what happened. Lucy was kinda surprised, Weisslogia was engaged? That was unexpected. Lucy never heard Sting or Rogue said anything about his father's love life. Since Sting's mother's death, he just lived like that, brought them up with his own efforts and love. She thought that this was a good news, it'd been ten years already, Sting and Rogue maybe needed someone to take care of them as a mother like they deserved to be and Weisslogia needed someone to share difficulty in life. But Sting … seemed like he found it hard to accept to have a new mother._

_"Sting, why were you so mad about it? It's been 10 years already, don't you think your father deserves another chance to be happy, it's good for him and it's good you two too. " – She said carefully._

_He sighed. "I ... know but … Lucy she looks exactly like my mom and I have a bad feeling about it, I don't trust her"_

_"You just met her, of course you don't trust her" - Lucy said tenderly._

_"All right, I think it's normal for you to have these feeling when she just appeared out of nowhere but maybe if you get to know her, she won't be that bad" – She cooed but Sting still utter a word_

_"Sting, I know it's hard to accept but … running away couldn't solve anything, at least, talk to them and we'll see what happen next. I know that Weisslogia just wants the best for you two, you know." – She said kindly, her fingers combed his hair, giving him some soothing feeling. Sting sighed again then nodded_

_"Fine, but … not now, I need to be somewhere else right now but home"_

_"Okay… how about you stay at my dorm then we could go home by dinner, perfect time for family reunite, I want to see your father anyway, it's been a long time, I'll cook something for you guys" – She grinned at him and he smiled back, rubbing her hair. His dad would love that, Weisslogia really liked Lucy, the girl was like a daughter to him._

_"You know my father once said that he wanted you to be his daughter-in-law when you cooked us dinner before you came to America, remember?" – He said then chuckled, enjoying her slightly red face._

_"R…really? I mean l..liar… he didn't say that" – She stammered._

_"Oh yes he did" – He smirked and tugged a strain of hair that fell down her cheek. "Do you want to?"_

_"Want what?" – She asked in confusion._

_"Do you want to be his daughter-in-law?" – He whispered between jest and earnest, smiling at her. Now Lucy looked like a ripe cherry, her heart began to race again. It sounded like he was confessing to her_. YES_. She screamed in her head but then inwardly slapped her face_.

He's just teasing you stupid, pull yourself together.

_His smirk was annoying her and she knew he was enjoying this, she took a deep breath, keeping her eyes-contact with Sting_. Okay, two could play a game.

_"What benefit that I'm gonna get if I am your father's daughter-in-law?" – She cocked her head innocently and Sting snickered._ She's in.

_"Huhm… my father will treat you like his daughter?"_

_"Oh please, he's already treated me like his own daughter" – She rolled her eyes playfully_

_"Okay, then if you are my father's daughter-in-law, I … will cook … for you everyday" – He grinned and she made a face._

_"God no, you'll set the whole kitchen on fire and I will have to eat instant noodles everyday for the rest of my life if Rogue isn't there" - She deadpanned_

_"Hey … Okay it's true but I'm willing to learn if you're be there to teach me"_

_"You can have Rogue teach you" - Lucy shook her head_

_"Yeah but it'll be more fun if it's you" – He said in his sing-song voice and she cackled to herself._

_"That's all? too cheap, I thought I deserve better than that" – She sighed, pretending to be disappointed._

_"Playing the spoiled princess role now huh? Okay princess, how about you can have everything in my house?" – He smirked then pinched her cheek and she pouted at him_

_"Really? Everything?"_

_"Yeah, everything."_

_"Like what?"_

_"Like my X-box, my Playstation 3, my laptop, Rogue's guitar – he won't mind if you have it believe me, the 50 inches TV plasma in the living room …" – he counted his fingers, Lucy giggled, she didn't need those things, she could get them if she wanted, her family was the richest in Japan remember?_

_He continued - "… and the most important thing …me"_

_"I've already had you" – The remark made a slip of her tongue and an awkward silence filled the air._

_"I MEAN ….eh …uhm .. you're my friend, I've already had you as my friend … shut up" – She almost shouted at him in embarrassing, that amused him even more._

_"I didn't say anything" - He cackled._

_"But you're thinking, stop your complicated thought, geeze"_

_"Okay okay .." He laughed lightly and whispered again – "Well then you can have me more than a friend" – She blushed hard at his implication._

_"S… stop talking nonsense you idiot" – She smacked the back of his head then stood up abruptly_. Stop messing with my heart Sting, I don't want to have a heart attack when I'm 17._ But before she could go anywhere, he grabbed her wrist._

_"You haven't answered my question yet" – He grinned, somehow he now really wanted to know the answer when he saw her red face._

Gosh, could he just give me a break?

_"Well do you?" – She asked back and before he could open his mouth, she beat him to it. - "If you don't, then don't ask"_

_Sting watched her running away to her bathroom then chuckled._

Yes, I do, I really do Lucy.

* * *

Sting stayed at her dorm all day but instead of enjoying a peaceful Saturday together, she made him study. He texted Rogue in the afternoon to see if father and _that woman _were home yet. Then he took Lucy to the grocery store to buy some food for dinner. She made _Sukiyaki _– a kind of pot-au-feu consisted of tofu, beef, scallion, mushrooms and vegetables eat together with jelly-noodles, some rice, _Kakuni –_ caramel pork and _Miso _soup, she also made some sushi for Rogue and jelly fruit _Konnya _for desert.

"It's not some kind of a party you know, you don't have to cook too many dishes" – Rogue said then picked up a sushi roll and was about to put it in his mouth but Lucy slapped his hand the it dropped on the dish again.

"We're going to welcome a new member to your family so I want to make it special" – Lucy mumbled quietly, only for Rogue to hear, but not like there was anybody around to eavesdrop on them, Sting was watching TV in the living room, Wesslogia and Hazumi weren't home yet.

"So, what do you know about her?" - She asked, hands still working on sushi.

"Not much thought. She's my father secretary, they've dated for 2 months and just got engaged 2 days ago" – Rogue shrugged.

"What? 2 months and he's already thought about marrying her? As much as I think moving on is a good thing for him but it's really a little rush don't you think?"

"I know, I was surprised to know that too, but I think it's because she looks and acts just like our mother, hair, eyes, favorite color, even the way she touched her ear lobe when she's worried this morning"

"Huhm… that's strange, the similar between two looks I can understand but even the habit and liking?" – Lucy said in confusion.

"Yeah, but maybe it's just a coincident, maybe if we get to know her, we'll see her completely different from our mother"

"I hope so, if not it'll be difficult for Sting to accept her" -

"Are you two talking about me?" – A voice resounded and they turned to look at her, Lucy was startled but still smiling at the woman.

"Hi, nice to meet you miss Hazumi, I'm Lucy, friend of Rogue and Sting" - She hoped Hazumi didn't hear much about her conversation with Rogue.

"Well hello Lucy, nice to meet you too, Weisslogia talked so much about you" – She gave Lucy a hug then turned to look at Rogue, he just nodded slightly.

"Lucy? Oh my god it's good to see you again, how are you?" – Weisslogia followed closely behind Hazumi.

"I'm fine uncle, what about you?" – Lucy hugged him and he patted her head, Weisslogia was like another father to her, he was glad that Sting and Rogue could have a friend like her, her appearance in their life was like sunshine after rainy days.

"Never better, my dear. Oh you made dinner? They look delicious" – He praised her efforts then they started to gather at the dinner table after 15 minutes later … except Sting.

Lucy and Rogue almost had to yell at him to make him get out of the living room, the atmosphere turned somehow gloomy after that. Hazumi tried to start a conversation with Sting but the boy either didn't answer her or just answered tersely. Lucy had to step on his foot several times to warn him but Hazumi looked like she didn't mind, just smiling all the time, if she wasn't Weisslogia's fiancée and just a completely stranger, Lucy would have mistaken her with a crazy woman.

The dinner didn't go very smoothly, Sting and his father had an argument again about Sting's disrespect towards Hazumi. Although Lucy had told to him take it easy but easier said than done, Sting finally decided to shut his mouth and didn't even say a word till the end of the meal.

"I'm so sorry about Sting, aunt Hazumi" – Lucy said quietly while washing another dish handed to her by Hazumi under the cold water.

"Oh don't worry about, he'll get over it"

"Aunt Hazumi, don't you wonder why Sting isn't … very friendly with you? I saw you smiling at him like you don't take offense by words" – Lucy was kinda surprised when she could keep her happy face with Sting all the time, she was either had a surprisingly high tolerance or just simply crazy.

"I know why Sting acts that way towards me, it's because his mother looked like me right? – She paused. _Actually, you looks like her._ Lucy thought

"But I'm sure he'll soon likes me, I can arouse his beautiful memory about him and his mother although the similar between us is just a coincidence, he'll forget his former mother and I can take care of him for her instead" – She smiled again and Lucy just nodded. _Maybe she won't be so bad._

* * *

**[A week later]**

"Let (d) be a straight line with equation x = t, y = -1, z = - t and 2 plane (P): x + 2y + 2z + 3 = 0 and (Q): x + 2y + 2z + 7 = 0. Form the equation of straight line (d') which is the projection of (d) on (P)?" – Natsu read slowly so his friend could write the topic.

"Sounds easy" – Gray murmured and quickly wrote something in his note

"Lucy what do you think? Lucy? Lucy? LUCY?" – Erza's voice almost turned Lucy to deaf but it finally woke her up from her daydream.

"What? Oh … Sorry" – Lucy murmured when Erza gave her a point look. Lucy, Erza, Natsu and Gray were studying together because they were going to have their Autumn term exam next 3 week before the Holiday began but Lucy didn't focus, her mind was somewhere else.

"What's wrong Lucy?" – Natsu inquired – "Are you sick?"

"No, it's nothing Natsu, I'm fine" – She let out a soft sigh.

"Oh c'mon, tell us, we're friends right? You could tell us anything" – Erza insisted and she sighed again. _Perhaps hey could give me some advice._

"Right, it's something concerns my friends … Okay it's about Sting and Rogue, don't look at me like that please" – She made a face and they lowered their brows.

"Tell us anyway, maybe we can help" – Natsu offered. Although they didn't get along but they were Lucy's friends and Lucy wouldn't be able to focus on anything else if there was something involved her friends that she couldn't help. So as soon as they found out the resolve, her mind wouldn't still be somewhere else.

"Alright, you see, Sting and Rogue's mother … passed away about 10 years ago, it's a painful memory to them, especially Sting … and a week ago, their father came back home from an assignment and he introduced them … his fiancée, their soon to be step mother" – Lucy was hesitated, she felt bad because that's her friends' family's issue, it was not something that she should tell the outsiders but … she didn't know what to do with the trouble thought that she was having in mind.

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is … there's something odd about aunt Hazumi, uncle's fiancée, I called their father uncle so she insisted that I call her aunt" – Yeah, the problem concerned _the new mother_, Lucy couldn't tell Rogue and Sting because she was the one who told them to get to know her first. Besides, this is the chance for them to have a perfect family with father and mother, to have the happiness they always deserved to have. She didn't want her delusion ruining it but she couldn't push that thought outside of her mind either.

"Odd? How odd?" – Gray stopped what he was writing to lift his head and looked at her.

"Do you think that … there is some particular reason for a woman to lie about her marriage status?" - She stated

* * *

**[5 days ago]**

_"Uncle, can I ask you something?" – Lucy sat on the couch in front of Weisslogia, he was watching news in the living room, Hazumi was having a bath while Sting and Rogue was washing dishes. _

_"Of course my dear" – Weisslogia smiled at her but it didn't ease her nervousness much._

_"Well …uhm … you see, I know this is your family business and I don't have the right to meddle in but … I heard that you only dated aunt Hazumi for 2 months and you two have already engaged? Don't you think it's a little bit rush uncle?" – Lucy chose her words carefully, she didn't want Weisslogia to think that she meant disrespect in any way._

_He smile in fatherly fashion at her, clearly expecting the question from the little girl._

_"First of all, don't talk like you're a stranger to this family Lucy, you belonged to this home the moment you set you foot in here so you have all the right to ask" – He said tenderly and her smile blossomed. _

_"Second, I know that my dear. I was astonished back then when she was hired to be my secretary, I felt like I just saw a ghost, Hazumi looks like Sting's mother so much and I wondered was this just a coincidence or fate's arrangement?" – He paused but Lucy was quiet, listening to him carefully, Weisslogia lowered his voice._

_"We see each other at the company everyday, we talked, we laughed … She reminds me of Belle so much Lucy and I had thought that … 'Who care? It's maybe just a coincidence but what if it's fate? Perhaps fate finally gave me a chance to bring the woman who Sting loves so much back in his life, the one that I had failed to protect"_

Belle? So that's Sting's mother's name. Her name's beautiful. _Lucy thought._

_Weisslogia rubbed his lids to clear his eyes._

_"That's why I want her to join our family as soon as possible, Sting perhaps hasn't accepted her yet, but I think he will, eventually and the past will finally stop haunting him" – His hands clenched and unclenched, talking about their past was hard for him, Lucy could see it._

_"I saw him screaming, crying, sobbing and pleading so the nightmares could show him some mercy after his mother's death. I'm his father and I couldn't help him with anything besides comforting him with trite and hollow words" – He tried to stay calm but his voice was broken, Lucy almost cried at his painful expression, what could be more painful to parents than just standing there, looking their child agonizing in pain but couldn't do anything about it. She hugged his torso, like a daughter did to her own father and he smiled in through her hair, he patted her head slightly._

_"It's not your fault uncle, we couldn't change what happened, don't blame yourself like that, you just want the best for him, for them right?" - She mumbled  
_

_"Yeah"_

_"I promise that I will try my best to help Sting accept her uncle" – She beamed and he let out a soft laugh._

_"Thank you Lucy"_

_Lucy gave him a last hug then went back to the kitchen find Rogue and Sting but suddenly remembered something._

_"Oh one more thing uncle, did … aunt Hazumi have …family before? Even if she did, I don't think that would be a problem for us"_

_Wesslogia was taken back by her question, he looked at her in surprise._

_"No no no Lucy, she hasn't married yet, why did you ask?"_

_Lucy raised her brows, her mouth made an 'O' shape and she laughed nervously._

_"Heh …eh… nothing uncle, I just thought that she must have had a family before … because she … ehh … she's … ehhh …" – Wesslogia watched Lucy trying to formulate the right words in amusement._

_" … as old as me?"_

_"Yes … NO, I … I didn't mean that uncle I mean …" – Lucy stammered and he laughed out loud. _

_"Don't worry Lucy, I know what you mean but really … she hasn't married yet, maybe that's why I thought it was fate you know" – He smiled at her and she smiled back in relief._

* * *

"Why do you think that she lied to Weisslogia about her marriage status?" – Erza shrugged.

"Well when we were having dinner, I saw the skin area around her ring - finger was whiter than the rest, it's bigger than the ring uncle gave her so I could see it, it's a sign that she had worn a wedding ring before, she went outside a lot so when she took it off it traced on her finger" – Lucy said, putting her middle finger on her chin - "And the fact that uncle didn't notice it means that he hasn't known her very well."

"Okay … but, maybe it's because her marriage wasn't a good memory and she didn't want to talk about it?" – Erza assumed.

"Or maybe her husband abused her and she felt ashamed about it?" – Gray stated wisely.

"Or maybe he's dead, robbed, murdered or something. Maybe he was kidnapped by aliens." – Natsu added and Lucy sweatdropped.

"I don't think there is any good reason for her to do that. Aunt Belle – Sting and Rogue's mother name – passed away too, it's a big losses for them and they will understand it if her husband is truly dead … beside wasn't telling us about her husband abused her would make us feel more compassion to her and easier to accept her? I would do that if I were her." – Lucy shrugged.

"Right, but … not telling the truth about her marriage status is not something illegal"

"I know … it's also mean that she doesn't trust us to tell us about something personal of her life. By the way, another thing that make me feel strange about her is …" – She paused and all eyes focused on her like they were watching a climax of a drama - "Frosh doesn't like her" – And they gave her incomprehensible expressions.

"Who the hell is Frosh?"

"A neighbor kid?"

"A cat"

"Natsu's right, a cat, Frosh is Rogue's cat. It's really friendly, different from Lector – Sting's cat"

* * *

**[3 days ago]**

_Lucy knocked the door but nobody answered. It was a Tuesday's afternoon, Sting and Rogue stayed at the basketball court to practice and she decided to have dinner at their house. _Uncle and Hazumi must have gone home by now. _She turned the knock and walked in, Lucy heard the water running from the bathroom upstairs. _Maybe it's uncle, Hazumi probably is preparing the meal. _She went to the kitchen but couldn't see anyone._

_"Aunt Hazumi? Aunt Hazumi?"_

_*Méow*_

_She jumped at the sound of the cat, Frosh scampered at her, hid behind her back. She looked at the cat quizzically._

_"Lucy, what are you doing here? Wesslogia didn't say that you would come" – Hazumi appeared at the door, smiling at her, cat food can was in her left hand and a kitchen knife was in her right hand, she quickly put the knife down and approached Lucy._

_"Hi aunt Hazumi uhm … I … usually don't have to tell them … I just … ehh …show up" – Lucy scratched her head, it was normal for their family if she decided to join their dinner without telling them first, but to someone else, it sounded kinda impolite._

_"Oh right, it was before but now I'm here, please call first nextime sweetie" – Lucy gulped and nodded dumbly._

* * *

"Ooooohhhh"

"What?" – She halted and looked at them quizzically.

"Now I know why you think that there's something fishy about her, she's marking her territory in her new house, and you can't do whatever you like like before" – Erza smirked and they boys nodded in approval.

"Wha …what the hell, it's not like that and I'm serious about this so shut up" – Lucy frowned at them and continued her story.

* * *

_"By the way, what are you doing Hazumi?" – She said, looking at the can in her hand._

_"Oh I'm feeding Rogue's cat, Fros or Froge something, it's being unpleasant today. Hey kitty kitty, c'mon … mama has your food" – She said in her sing-song voice and Lucy sweatdropped, but Frosh just kept hiding itself behind Lucy's legs. _That's strange, he usually likes everyone.

_"It's okay Hazumi, let me handle it" – She offered then scooped the small cat in her arms._

_"Oh thank you my dear, I'll leave it to you" – She gave Lucy the can then got back to the incompleted meal._

_"Hey Frosh, what's wrong with you today?" – She said to it then caressed it's hair, making him purr in delight …_

* * *

"Maybe it didn't like the food" – Gray remarked.

"Excuse you but it ate happily when I fed it" – Lucy retorted back.

"Anything else Lucy?" – Erza asked.

"Yes, I found a golden rinse in the waste basket when I helped them take out the garbage, it's mean her hair isn't the color that we saw" – Lucy said quietly, Hazumi was hiding some many things from them, she was really disappointed. She hoped that Hazumi could be _the one _to bring happiness to their family again but now … she didn't even know anymore.

"It's perhaps she likes golden hair and it's just a coincidence" – Erza shrugged and Lucy sighed

"I know, I thought so and told myself to stop imagining things but … I don't know … I got a hunch that she's not someone we thought she was and the more important problem is … I promised uncle that I would help Sting accept her but now I have to reconsider it again"

"If you're worried so much about her hiding something from you then google some information about her on the internet or something, don't tell her or anybody until you know exactly who she is" – Erza offered. Lucy thought for a moment then nodded.

"Seem like a good idea, thank you Erza" – She smiled at the red hair girl.

"Question Lucy: I know that you and them are childhood friends but does that necessary that you have to stay at their house almost the whole week" – Natsu inquired nonchalantly.

"I have to help them to get to know Hazumi, she's the only woman there" – She shrugged.

"I know but sometimes I don't even know where you are staying anymore, the dorm or their house" – He muttered.

"Ooh someone's jealous" – Gray whistled.

"I'm not jealous, I'm just worried about her safety"

"Well no need to, they won't hurt her or something so stop overdo it Natsu" – Erza looked like she had given the duo the green light.

"Yeah, thanks Natsu but no need to" – Lucy smiled at him but Natsu just looked away.

It was hard for to see her face when she just hang around them almost 24/7 and every time he spotted her at the hall, the schoolyard … she was either fooling around with Sting or talking and laughing with Rogue. And the most annoying thing that those bastard would find a way to get on his nerves when they saw him by expressing … those … lovey-dovey acts like touching her cheek, caressing her hair, hugging her or even worse – kissing her cheeks and she would blush cutely like one of their fangirls.

Really he couldn't even believe that they were _just friends _anymore. Natsu didn't know why he was feeling these … feelings, he had considered the possibility that he was jealous but then again … jealous was only for people who was in love right? Natsu didn't love her, he liked her … as a friend … okay maybe a little bit more than a friend …. alright a lot more than a friends but … he-didn't-love-her … right?

_Urrrggg._ _I wished she were a dude, that would be easier._ He thought. _No wait, she can't be a dude, if she was a dude and I like her then that mean … I'm gay?_ His eyes wide opened._ OH HELL NO. _He internally slapped himself for thinking such things.

_Maybe I could ask her to hang out with me this weekend, just the two of us like when we were still in America. Yeah, that could work._

**End of chapter 10**

* * *

**Thank you for reading, following, making this your favorite story :) **

Special thanks to** SimplyIsabelleS, Psyka, AnimexXxLuvver, Lucy Queen of the Stars, I'm . such . a . geek, Mandy422 **for reviewing :D Love you guys.

**Lucy Queen of the Stars:** _He will soon dear :D I'm working on it :D_

And another thanks to** SimplyIsabelleS **for reminding me of mistakes that I made in the last chapter. I'm so sorry guys, when I read it again I had thought that "Gosh what the hell is wrong with you, you made so many mistakes" -_- So horrible, I also had to fix the time landmark urgggg ... Please forgive me.

**I'm so sorry for the late update again, my state of mind wasn't really stable to write anything :) Anyway tell me what you think about the new mother :D I finished chapter 11 and I'll update it tonight or tomorrow. See you soon :D**


	11. Chapter 11 - The shady fiancée

**Hi there :D Here is chapter 11 of Pure, I finished it 3 days ago but I had to check for some errors. English is not my mother language so forgive me if I made some mistakes ^^~**

**Thank you all of you for reading, following, making this your favorite story.**

**Special thanks to AnimeWhoLockDiaries, zin-chan-luvs-u, xxXScarletHeartXxx, AnimexXxLuvver for reviewing XD I appreciated it XD. **

******zin-chan-luvs-u**: Hazumi actually :)) oh I love Frosh too XD So don't worry he's safe ^^  


**Anyway, enjoy :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Pure **

**Chapter 11 - The shady fiancée  
**

"What are you thinking about?" – Rogue asked Sting, they were taking a break at the basketball court. Sting wasn't focus, he couldn't even catch the ball from a simple pass.

"Nothing"

"Really, we've grown up together and you still have to lie to me? It's been written all over your face"

"I'm thinking about moving out" – Sting said quietly and Rogue stared at him. – "I'm gonna stay at the dorm I guess"

"Is it because of Hazumi?" – That was a statement not a question. Rogue took Sting's silence as the confirmation.

"Sting, Hazumi is father's fiancée and will be our step-mother sooner or later, are you gonna be like that forever? Get to know her or something"

"It's funny when it's coming from you you know, you barely even talk to her so don't tell me what to do" – Sting rolled his eyes mockingly.

"Yeah but I'm not the one who has the bigger problem with her like you. Why are you just keep giving her such a hard time? She looks like our mother so what? It's time for dad to move on and so do you, she probably could take care of us like mom used to" – Rogue retorted back.

"She-will-never can take care of us like mom used to. That woman is a hypocrite and a gold-digger and that all she will ever be. She made me and Lucy fight all the time" – Sting greeted his teeth.

* * *

**[Flashback]**

_"Sting my dear, I made some chocolate muffins for you, do you want some?" – Hazumi held a tray full of cakes in front of Sting and he scowled at her._

_"Your muffins suck, stop trying to imitate my mom will you?" – Sting poured himself a glass of water then was about to went upstairs but Hazumi was faster, she blocked his way, still smiling._

_"What are you talking about? I love chocolate muffins too, I'm sure they're more delicious than last time so try again, c'mon" – She pushed the tray near his face and his scowl deepened._

_"No thanks" – He declined but Hazumi didn't give up, she kept shoving the tray nearer, challenging Sting's composure._

_"Oh don't be like that sweetheart, I know you miss them from your mom so I made them for you, it perhaps could be better than hers" - His eyes narrowed at the mere mention about his mom._

_"I said I don't want them" – Sting greeted his teeth, he pushed the tray back but his hand barely touched the metal material because she suddenly fell backward, the tray beat the floor with a loud clang. _

_"Sting" – Lucy cried out then rushed at Hazumi who was clutching her wrist.  
_

_"Aunt Hazumi are you okay? Sting what did you do?" – Lucy scolded him. She came out from Rogue's room to see what Sting was doing in the kitchen with Hazumi and saw him pushed her fell on the ground. She knew that Sting didn't like her but that was brutal._

_"Excuse me but I didn't do anything, she fell by herself" – Sting glared at the woman._

_"It's okay Lucy, Sting didn't like my muffins so he pushed me a little but I'm sure he didn't mean to … I'm fine" – Hazumi smiled at her and rubbed her wrist  
_

_"Wha ... the hell? That's not true-"_

_"Sting apologize to her now" – Lucy was frowning at him while helping her to stand up and he rolled his eyes._

_"In your dream" – He said then walked away, leaving Lucy gaping like a fish out of water._

_"Sting, stop right there, don't you dare walk away from me like that! Sting, I'm talking to you, Sting! ..." _

**[End of flashback]**

* * *

"Hypocrite" – He stated again.

"Okay, maybe you pushed her but you didn't realize it" – Rogue said and Sting gave him a boring look. – "Really, you trust her more than me?"

"Of course I trust you more than her but ... never mind ... what about the gold-digger stuff?" - Rogue sighed. He didn't like to interact with Hazumi, no particular reason, he just didn't like it. So except dinner and breakfast time when he saw her at dining-table, he usually avoided her and it was really hard when she was home all the time but luckily, she wasn't interesting in talking to him either, so ... it was fine. Weisslogia let her take a break from work to spend time with his two sons but as far as he knew, it didn't get anywhere.

"Well she asked dad to buy her a new car on their wedding day, they haven't got married yet she's already thought about a new car? I heard them talking when I passed his room"

"That still wasn't enough to prove that she's a gold-digger"

"Really? She used dad's credit card to buy a whole new wardrobe, she bragged about her new dresses and shoes with her friend and about dad let her buy as many clothes as she wanted." – Sting said and pushed back his imaginary long hair, mimicking Hazumi's gesture like when she was on the phone, Rogue chuckled. They weren't poor but Weisslogia was not spendthrift either so they both knew that he would never let her spend that much money on clothes.

"She always acting like she was the victim in front of dad and Lucy every time we fell out, the poor new mother and the bad son" - He sneered then continued - " And the most annoyed thing that she purposely made me looked bad in front of Lucy when the truth is I never did anything seriously injure her, she did all those things to herself, mostly tumble-down and Lucy would get angry at me like I'm the worst - sinner - ever" – He wanted to get out of there, fast. Sting didn't think that he could stand another day at that house.

"Okay, but if she's truly the person like you said, what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know, her look is no longer a problem, the problem is I can't let a person like that walk in my dad's life but I really don't know what to do" – Sting said and his eyes narrowed at the image of the woman popped in head. _Get out of my head you devil._

"Perhaps you should talk to Lucy"

"Nah, she likes that woman, she won't listen to me" - Sting mumbled.

"She defended her doesn't mean that she likes her, you'll never know what's going on in that girl's little head" - Rogue shrugged.

"Maybe but I have move out first before decide to do anything else" - Sting bid his lip, he now missed his mother than ever.

_Mommy ..._

* * *

"Yes, Caprico. Yes, find all the information about the woman in the picture I sent you for me, past, present, I don't care, just … take everything you get …. Okay I'll wait" – Lucy hung up her cell phone, she just gave Caprico – the butler of the Heartfilla a call to help her find all she want to know about Hazumi, she got a bad feeling about this. She was heading to S1 after school, Rogue just told her that Sting wanted to move out, she wanted to talk to him although she didn't know what she was gonna say yet.

"Sting, Rogue told me that-" – Lucy blinked at the scene in front of her eyes, Sting looked at her then quickly let go of Yukino's hand.

She fold her arms and raised her brows – "Am I interrupting something?"

"N… no, of course not, nothing really" – Yukino laughed nervously and scratched her head.

"What are you doing here?" – Sting asked. It was just an innocent question but seemed like Lucy took it too seriously.

"What? I can't even see my friend whenever I want?" – She replied petulantly and Sting narrowed his eyes at her.

"Uhm … you guys go talk, I'll go first" – Yukino could sense the evil aura Lucy was emitting even miles away and she decided that maybe it's time to leave them alone and just go.

"You don't have to-"

"Thank you Yukino" – Lucy butted in before Sting got a chance to finish his sentence. Yukino forced a laugh and waved at them awkwardly, Lucy walked in when she had already left.

"Sooo ... what were you two doing? – She asked nonchalantly.

"Cleaning, our duty is today" – Sting said then started cleaning the black board, they had finished sweeping the class.

"Cleaning or flirting" – Lucy murmured but he caught that.

"I can hear you Luce. I didn't flirt with her, she got a sliver in her finger when she was sweeping, I just helped her get it out" - He grunted.

"Whatever" – She rolled her eyes and grumbled annoyingly.

"Seriously if you're here to scold me again then sorry I don't need it" – They were still mad at each other after the argument at Sting's house last night when Sting called Hazumi old hag because she wanted to wear his mother's wedding dress on her wedding day. Weisslogia was really angry and almost gave him a piece of his mind if Rogue wasn't there, she knew that she had doubt for her too but that was rude, especially when Hazumi was Weisslogia's fiancée.

"What? You're irritated because I interrupted your '_quality time' _ with Yukino?" – Lucy knew that she was being a bitch but she couldn't help it, she was mad at herself for exaggerating the situation and Sting was the only one around for her to vent her anger on. It was just a simple holding hand but it didn't look okay very much in her eyes.

"Again? I said I just helped-" – Sting halted then turned to look at her abruptly. He threw the rag on the table then approached her, leaning forward then staring at her twisted face.

"What?" – She shrugged and Sting's infamous smirk appeared again.

"Are you jealous?" – He cocked his head, looking quite smug.

Lucy blinked and her cheeks darkened. - "Wha … Pardon me? I'm not jealous"

"Uh huh, not what I'm seeing" – He crossed his arms then stared down at her, her face was burning.

"Hell! I-am-not-jealous, okay? I don't care if you hold hand with anybody because that's not my business" - She pouted

"Ahh, so you're jealous because you thought I held her hand" – He smirked again and was about to pinch her cheek but she slapped his hand away.

"I said I-did-not-freaking-jealous" – Oh yeah she was jealous and his smug face was not helping at all. He grinned then poked her cheeks with his finger repeatedly although she just kept slapping his hand away.

_She's cute. _

"Stop it you moron, what are you? Five?" – She laughed lightly then frowned again, half ticklish half annoying.

"What? We hold hands all the time and you're still jealous because I held hers, want me to hold yours right now?"

"Thanks but no thanks, I don't need your _magical hold_" – She mocked then started to walk away but he grabbed her hand, still smiling.

"Aw c'mon, don't be like that, your cold make me hurt you know" – He held her hands tightly in his then hugged her from behind, rocking her back and forth.

"Sting, release me now" – Lucy squirmed in his arms but he wouldn't let go.

"Never" - He buried his face in her hair and tightened his arms around her. He then pecked her cheeks softly, making her melt.

"Goshhh, get off me Sting" - She struggled again, being near him at this time was not good for her heart.

"There's nothing going on between me and Yukino you know" - Sting smiled then let her go.

"I know, you don't have to explain that to me" – Lucy murmured, he smiled and she stuck her tongue out at him. This time he was succeeded in pinching her cheeks.

"So? You want to see me?" – He asked after the corner of her lips turned up.

"Yeah, Rogue said that you wanted to move out, is that true?"

"It's true, I don't think I can't stand being near her any longer" – He said and Lucy nodded. Her plan for them to get along maybe needed to wait until she fully understood who Hazumi really was. Sting was waiting for her response but got none, he thought that she was gonna protest.

"You're … not gonna say anything?"

Lucy shrugged - "Say what? It's your choice and I respect it, stay at the dorm until you feel comfortable to talk to them again. I just want to ask to see if you're okay" – She stood on her tip-toes and rubbed his hair.

"I'm okay, thank you" – He grinned, Lucy really cared about him and he appreciated it a lot, he didn't know if he could ever find another girl cared about him as much as she did.

"You're welcome" – She beamed.

* * *

**[After dinner]**

"Lucy are you sure it's okay for us to eavesdrop?" – Rogue asked quietly. He and Lucy were standing outside of Weisslogia's room with their eaves got close to the door, trying to figure out what Hazumi and him were talking about.

Sting had told his father about his decision and kinda asked his permit to move out, he had tried to be as much polite as he could although he was really annoying when Hazumi just kept butting in. That woman really didn't know her boundary but if Sting wants his father to accept his choice, he can't get on her bad side so he decided to give in. Weisslogia said that he would think about it.

"I need to know what she's gonna tell uncle about what Sting had told them. I think there's something fishy about her." – She whispered.

Sting was taking a shower and this was a good chance to find out something more about Hazumi. She didn't tell Rogue fully about her suspicion yet, she had thought that she perhaps shouldn't involve Sting and Rogue into this mess she was making. But Rogue seemed like he didn't care much about Hazumi so maybe it was okay for her to tell him.

"Fishy? Like what?" - He asked softly

"Shhhh … quiet, I'll tell you later" – She crunched her face in concentration.

_'I'm so sorry honey, maybe this marriage is a mistake' – _It was Hazumi voice, there were something sounded like sobs and Lucy wondered if she was really sobbing.

_'No no no, don't say something like that Hazumi, Sting is really hard-head but he'll get around soon' - No dad, he won't and never will._ Rogue thought.

_'I … I know he doesn't like me because I look like his mother although it's not like I can control how I look, maybe I should dye my hair black or something'_

_'No honey, I like your hair natural like that, it looks beautiful, like sunshine' -_Weisslogia cooed.

_'Aw, thank you honey'_

Rogue and Lucy stared at each other until Rogue made his face looked like he was about to puke, Lucy had to cover her mouth to restrain herself from giggling too loud.

"They make me want to throw up" - He muttered and Lucy laughed silently. _You'll be like him someday too, Rogue. _

_'Weisslogia, I think you shouldn't let him move out, I promise I'll try my best for him to like me although he's very aggressive to me, he rushed me all the time but I know that-'_

_'Wait, Sting rushed you? When?' _

"That's not true" – Rogue mumbled. _This is not good. _Lucy thought.

_'Okay I have to talk to him'_

_'No no no no no, he just slipped his hands or something honey, it's no big deal really, I'm fine, don't tell him about this' _ - Hazumi pleaded and Lucy made a face.

_'How could I do that? That's harsh and disrespected, I didn't teach him to be a man like that'_

_'No no, please, it's fine, just let it go this time, you could do whatever you want next time, but this time just … let it be okay? I'll try to get along with him' _

"She's a good actress" – Rogue commented and Lucy nodded. She heard Weisslogia's sigh loudly.

_'Okay, this time, but next time you have to tell me okay? That kid needs to learn some manners_ - He gave in - '_I'm thinking about taking the whole family to the hot spring after the kids finish their exams, to knit our family together, what do you think?'_

_'Really that's great hon, you're the perfect husband'_

_'Really?'_

_'Really' _– Hazumi said then Sting and Rogue heard some kissing sounds ...

Then came some whinny

Then … some moans

Then … some whimper …

'Ewww' – The duo outside the door mouthed then both hastily ran clean off. Both of them blushed slightly, the mere thought of what they were doing made her shiver and Rogue had to shake his head to clean his thought. He then turned to look at Lucy.

"So? What is that fishy thing that you were talking about?" – He opened the refrigerator to take out a bar of chocolate then handed her half of it.

Lucy bit a piece then started to tell him what she had already told Natsu, Erza and Gray. Maybe he could help her with it somehow. Rogue listened carefully but suddenly gaped like a dying fish when he heard ... - "WHAT? She was holding a knife while chasing Frosh around the house to feed him? It could have been killed" - Okay, nobody messed with his cat, even that was his soon-to-be-stepmother.

"I think we need a little chit-chat" – Rogue gritted his teeth and stormed off to find Hazumi but luckily Lucy stopped him.

"Woaaa, easy there Tiger, I can ensure you that it was the first and the last time I saw her fed Frosh so don't worry, I told her to have you or me feed it. If something like that happen again, I'll tell uncle" - She cooled him, trying to calm him down.

Rogue sighed then nodded.

"Fine"

He then told her what Sting had said to him. Lucy frowned slightly, so from Sting and Lucy's perspectives, Hazumi was really shady.

"So what should we do?" - He asked.

"I told Caprico to find all the information about her for me, we just need to be patient but don't tell Sting yet. We have to be sure before we bring out any conclusion, if we do anything wrong it can make the situation between them get worse" – She said then picked up the cat who was hanging around her legs from the moment she walked in the living room.

Rogue looked at her petting his cat and couldn't help but smiling at them. Frosh used to be an alley cat 4 years ago, it was beaten by some dogs back then and almost died but fortunately Lucy and him found it near a dumpster. Frosh was very sweet, it loved Rogue and Lucy so much and got along really well with Lector. Rogue remembered the time before she went to America, she'd gone to their house to study with them all the time and usually dropped off on the couch with Frosh lying on her stomach. He decided to take a picture of them like that then stored it inside his wallet, it was really cute.

He heard her whispering sweet nothings to his cat and he chuckled.

"You know it doesn't understand you right?"

"Of course it understands me right Frosh?" - She lifted the cat and it licked her nose, making her giggle. - "See"

"Those words could be better used if you said it to a human being" - He smiled and she arched her brows at him.

"Oooh, like you? I didn't know you like to hear people said that you're cute and adorable? - Rogue rolled his eyes playfully.

"I didn't say that"

"Aww, look at him Frosh, he's shy, how cute" - She teased.

"Don't call me cute please" - He scrunched his face and her smile stretched, she lifted the cat again then asked it.

"But it's true, right Frosh?"

*meow*

Lucy cackled and he grinned. ...

* * *

**[4 days later]**

"Uh huh, okay, I'll stop by later … no no no, I'll just walk, don't bring a limo to my school Caprico … yes I'm sure … okay, thank you, see you later …"

"So you kinda asked him to help you huh?" – Erza asked. She, Lucy and Levi were sitting at the canteen to have a drink. Fuji sensei was sick so they got 2 periods break. The rest of F1 probably was making a fuss somewhere else.

"Yeah, he got what I need but he said it was something that we have to talk directly" – Lucy stirred her espresso then took a sip.

"You must be really care about him to even do this huh?" – Levi said, smiling.

"Well he's my friend, isn't he? You would do the same if you were me."

"True but … are you sure he's just a friend because I can see there's so much more than that." – Lucy blinked then gulped at her implication and put on her annoying face, her usual mask to cover her nervousness.

"Wha ...what are you talking about?" - She stammered

"I saw the way you looked at him you know" – Erza remarked

"Don't lie to us Lucy, we're best friends aren't we? You can trust us " – Levi stated softly, she liked seeing Lucy with her friends, she could feel a lot of attraction among them. Lucy sighed and regained her composure, putting her hand under her chin.

"Honestly, I really don't know what I'm feeling about him. But … that doesn't matter, he's got someone already" – She pouted then looked out of the windows. The sakura tree started to shed leaves, it was kinda cold outside, the Winter is coming.

"Really? Who?" – Erza and Levi shared a look, they were so sure that he had feeling for Lucy but now she said that he got someone already?

"Yeah, both of them actually, but they didn't tell me who they were. That's something private" – Lucy sighed again, she really didn't want to talk about that, it made her feel really frustrated.

"Oh ... Hey can I ask you something … which one is hotter? Sting or Rogue? I'm gonna say Sting, have you seen him without a shirt, oh my god those abs urggg…" – Levi said eagerly and Lucy chortled.

"Are you his fangirl or something because you sound exactly like one of them … and don't let Gajeel hear that"

"Well I'm gonna vote for Rogue, he's less a jerk than Sting" – Erza deadpanned then put another piece of her strawberry shortcake in her mouth.

"Sting's not a jerk Erza, well ... used to but … not anymore. Sting's hotter but Rogue's cooler, they're different from each other but they're both my friends, both are sweet and both are idiots sometimes" – She commented, her boys were sure the best in her eyes. Levi giggled and Erza smiled

"So you do have feeling for them" – Back to the topic.

"I … don't know. I mean I have those strange feeling in my mind and heart lately but … maybe it's just some stupid crush people usually have on their best friends from time to time. Maybe it'll disappear after a while" – She shrugged.

"It won't go anywhere anytime soon" – Levi murmured to Erza and she nodded.

"I can hear you clearly Levi" – Lucy narrowed her eyes, Levi just grinned at her best friends. _We'll see about that Lucy. _She thought.

* * *

"Hime-sama, you're home" – Virgo bowed at Lucy and she shook her head that the girl. _She surely doesn't change._

"Nice to meet you too Virgo, where's Caprico? Tell him to come to the study to see me"

"Hai" – She bowed again then ran off to find Caprico.

Lucy went home without telling her father and mother, she didn't see them anywhere so Jude was probably still working and Layla was … somewhere. She sat on the couch, looking around the big room which was full of books. This was the place where she and Rogue usually hid when they played hide and seek with Sting, the blond boy always feeling dizzy when he had to find them among all those bookshelves. She smiled at the memory, Sting would get annoyed after sometimes when he looked around and couldn't find anything or anybody but books and books.

There was so much fun back then when they were still kids, they didn't have many things to worry about, no complicated drama or complicated feeling. They fought then made up, they expressed their feeling to one another freely, never had to worry whether what they said was good for their relationships or not because in the end, they would still be friends no matter what. Lucy had once looked at the stars in the sky at night, wishing that things would never change and that their friendships would stay like that, so they could be together forever.

But now … she knew it was impossible, things were bound to change sooner or later, her inside was changing, their insides were changing. She admitted that she was scared, she was scared that once they knew about her feeling for them, temporary or not, it would never be the same among them anymore, and she was scared that when they found their true soul-mates, she would be left out with nothing but only her feeling for them. They were still closed but who knew what was gonna happen tomorrow, when they knew the girls they had their eyes on also had feeling for them perhaps?.

She sighed. _I really know how to mess up my mind by myself._

*Knock knock*

"Come in Caprico" – Caprico walked in and bowed to her.

_Really, how many times do I have to tell them to skip those prolix manners? _

"What took you so long Caprico?" - He poured her some tea and she thanked him.

"I'm so sorry miss Lucy, I had to take care some of Mr Jude's business, it's very important"

"Oh? Sorry, no problem. Okay straight to the point, what do you get?"

"Hai, about Hazumi Weisslogia, her real name is Suzuki Yosutora, she lived in Seven 5 months ago." – Lucy nodded, listening carefully.

"Her family was wealthy but her relationship with her father wasn't very good because she used her father's money like water for shopping, party and her boyfriends, her father declared that he had no daughter like her after she made her mother fall off the stairs and broke her neck without even saying apologize. It was 15 years ago" – Caprico said and her eyes widened_, _that was quite shocking if you asked her.

"What else?"

"You're right about her marriage status miss Lucy, she lived together with a man named Hanes Redwood when she were 24, they were kinda married 11 years ago but without marriage certificate so according to the law, she's still single"

"And they divorced?" – Lucy frowned.

"No miss Lucy, Hanes was killed a year after their wedding" – Her frown deepened. _Kill?_

"No wonder she doesn't want to tell us, he was robbed or murdered or something?" – She asked and Caprico shook his head.

"I think you should see these papers for yourself miss Lucy. It's very serious" – He said then handed her a file, she flipped every paper one by one until she caught an old article ... She scowled at the picture ... _Was that? _... Her face scrunched in confusion while she was reading it.

_What the? ... ._ Lucy gulped, her jaw dropped and she felt like the air was leaving her lungs.

"Miss Lucy, are you okay?" - Caprico asked worriedly.

_Oh crap. _She stood up abruptly then took the file and ran out of the room, didn't give Caprico enough time to bowed to her, she had to find Rogue or Sting as quickly as possible but unfortunately, there was someone on her way.

"Lucy? What are you doing here?" – _Oh no, not this time. _It was her father's voice.

"Good evening father, I'm sorry but I have to go now, I'll talk to you later" – She waved to her father but he didn't let her get away so fast like that.

"Stop right there Lucy, don't you have some manners? This is my friend, Mr Celest and his son, go greet them and join us in the living room, we have something to talk about" – Jude said firmly. Lucy quickly bowed to them but turned to look at her father again.

"Father, please forgive me but I have to go now, this is an emergency, it's very important father" – She pleaded but her father didn't even flinch.

"Important? What could be more important than your future?"

"Wha .. what do you mean my future, father?" – She blinked and gave him a confuse look. He sighed then patted the guy with orange hair standing next to him.

"Lucy, I want you to meet your future fiancé" - He said and the guy smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you miss Lucy" - He lifted her hand and kissed it but Lucy was too shocked to react.

"WHAT?"

**End of chapter 11**

* * *

**I tried my best to fix all the grammar errors but if they're still there ... I'm so sorry.  
I got some reviews guessing that Hazumi was some kind of spy or undercover agent but I'm sorry to tell you guys that she was not, her profile wasn't fancy like that XD But I'm glad that you guy let me know about your theory :D :D  
**

**Question: has anyone read the special chapter about Sabertooth? It has completely ruined my image about Rogue that I always had in my mind :)) Now it looks like _the Rogue _I created was really OOC **

**Anyway thank you again for reading, I'll see you guys next time :D**


	12. Chapter 12 - What happened?

**Hiiii! Nice to see you guys again! I bring you new chapter!**

**First of all, thank you for reading, following and making this your favorite story. :D I appreciate it a lot.**

**Thank you xxXScarletHeartXxx, AnimexXxLuvver, RogueXLucyduhbest, zin-chan-luvs-u, elriclucy, SimplyIsabelleS, lovely black kitty Ra149 and Rizuki Dhan for reviewing! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Rizuki Dhan: Aww, thank you, I'm glad to hear that.  
**

**Special thanks to SimplyIsabelleS for proofread this as well as other chapters for me. Thank you much!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 12 - What happened?**

"WHAT?"

"Lucy, lower your voice." – Jude warned her and Lucy yanked her hand away from the guy.

"Father, you can't do this."

"Oh yes, I can. I'm sorry, Celes, Loke, about my daughter's manners. Lucy, go change into something more appropriate and join us, now." – He said decisively, leaving no room for argument.

"But father-"

"That's an order, Lucy." – He gestured Caprico – who had appeared behind Lucy the moment he heard her shout – to lead the guests to the living room. Lucy frowned, but bowed nonetheless. She stormed off to her room with Virgo following closely behind. Lucy slammed the door open and threw herself on her bed.

"He got me a fiancé? Urggg... What am I gonna do?" – Lucy cried out, burying her face in a pillow. Virgo quickly pulled out a dress from the closet for her to change.

"You just have to take it easy, Hime, maybe you'll like him." – Virgo beamed, but it just made Lucy feel even worse. _No, I won't like him, I… like somebody else. _Lucy pouted. _Aarggg… __No,__ no, no, don't think about that at this time, you have something more important to worry over right now, remember?_

She took a deep breath, then grabbed a white and pink Victorian style dress that Virgo handed her. Her father always wanted Lucy to wear that kind of clothes when they had some important guests. _What's wrong with my uniform? This dress is so… Heavy. _Lucy scowled, finding it hard to breath when the dress clasped around her waist tightly.

_Maybe I should call the boys and talk to them. _She thought. _They might want to know what I have found out. Concealing an enemy and not knowing who she is? That's dangerous. _

"Virgo, my phone… And you can go now, I'll be down in a minute." – Virgo tied the bow behind her back and handed her lady the phone. She bowed to Lucy, then left.

Lucy quickly dialed the number of Rogue, but he didn't pick up. She tried again, this time with Sting's number, but there was still no answer.

* * *

"Okay, recruits, this day is the day that you've been waiting for, right? Show us what you got." – Sting's voice echoed. He and Rogue were selecting some new players for the team.

"Hump… Pretty good, huh?" – Rogue raised his brows at the first recruit's trial, not so bad for some freshmen.

"Yeah, but they still need to improve a lot." – Sting nodded.

* * *

*Toot toot toot*

Lucy sighed. _Seriously?_ She pressed the number of Weisslogia's cell, but again…

"URGG, WHY IS NOBODY ANSWERING ME?" – She cried out. Luckily, her room was sound-proof. She was pacing back and forth when Aries walked in.

"Lucy-sama, are you done yet? Jude-sama requires your presence immediately." – The blonde inhaled deeply, then exhaled and nodded at her. _Okay, calm down, everything's gonna be fine. Maybe they haven't come home yet. What's more, __Hazumi__ doesn't know that I have found out about her past yet, so just pretend that everything's fine._

Lucy took a deep breath and walked down the hall to the living room. She didn't know why her father had to buy this big mansion, so big that it was freaking tiring to walk from the living room to her room, to the kitchen… Actually, to every other place as well. Virgo was waiting for her outside. When the servant saw the girl, she pushed the door open and Lucy forced a smile at her father's guests.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Celes and…"

"Loke." – Her new fiancé smirked sweetly.

"Loke. Nice to meet you."

She sat next down on the couch, next to her father. Lucy was calm outside but inside, she was freaking out. She was only 17 for God's sake, she didn't want to get married at this age, it's… Unhealthy and simply not right.

"Lucy, Mr. Celes and I are business colleagues. And his son, Loke, is a very famous model."

"I know, father, how could I not? He was in my perfect boyfriend list a long time ago." –Loke grinned at her when he heard that. His ego had its chance to boost again. - "Really?"

"Wait, you said 'was'? " – He hesitated.

"Yes, I crossed out your name after you got into a fight at a bar a year ago." – Lucy took a sip from her tea cup and smiled wryly at him. He laughed lightly.

Loke was very handsome with orange spiky hair and hazel eyes. He had the charisma and many fangirls. Lucy used to be one of them, but that was in the past. She disliked fighting very much, so he was out of her interest list after she read about it on Wizard Magazine.

"Oh, what a shame, but… I never wanted to be your boyfriend anyway, that's why I'm here, right, miss Lucy?" – He winked. Lucy inwardly rolled her eyes, but didn't snap back.

_Great, for 17 years I've never had a boyfriend and now, out of the blue, I have a fiancé. _

"Lucy, Loke asked me for your hand in marriage, it was his own will and I agreed. I think you two are very well-matched." – Jude said and Celes nodded in approval.

"Well-matched? You agreed without even asking about my opinion?" – _How dare they sit there and decide on my future on their own? _She thought angrily.

"Well, I think you should agree, too. Loke is my friend's son, he said he's loved you for a very long time and this is his wish. I've never seen you in a relationship before, so this is perfect. You can get to know him after your official engagement." – He said nonchalantly like he was talking about weather. It was his only daughter's future and he talked about it… Like weather. Lucy rubbed her forehead tiredly. _Oh my God. _

"Lucy, I know it sounds crazy to you, but I'm sure my son could bring you the happiness that you deserve." – Celes coaxed and she scowled. _Your son is a mere womanizer, Mister._

"Mr Celes, father, and Loke, I'm so sorry for what I'm gonna say next. Yet, I'll do it anyway." – Lucy stood up, inhaled, and said on one breath.

"I'm… Honored to be offered to marry Loke, but his is my future, not yours, so don't just sit there and tell me what to do. First: I'm not old enough to marry, or even think about the marriage. Second: Loke, we don't even know each other, and third: I already have my eyes on someone else, so this is a no from me. Now, if you're excuse me, I have something more important to do." – Lucy deadpanned and turned around to leave.

Her father face became white, this was the first time his daughter dared to embarrass him in front of his guests. He glanced at Celes and saw him almost dropped his jaw on the ground, Loke looked like he was trying not to laugh out loud. Blood rushed to his face and his fists were clenched, he stood up and called after her.

"Lucy, get back here, that is impolite-" – Jude said, but he was cut short by Celes.

"It's okay, Jude, maybe she just needs some time to think it over." – Celes shook his head slightly. Jude looked at his daughter but she already disappeared behind the door, he sighed and sat down again.

"Woa, she's got the spirit, that's what I'm talking about!" – Loke commented. He didn't mind waiting, he had waited for 7 years, he could wait a little longer.

_Lucy, I finally met you again. _He grinned.

* * *

"Come on, get away from me, you stupid dress!" – Lucy murmured. She put on her white shorts skirt and pink tank top, then tied her hair high up with a yellow ribbon.

"Virgo, where's my mother?" – She grabbed her phone and dialed the number of Weisslogia again.

"Eeehhh, she's… In… The hospital, Hime." – Virgo said that last part quietly. Lucy's eyes widened and she spun around.

"WHAT? She's in the hospital and nobody told me? What happened to her?" – Lucy cried out. Her mother was in the hospital and here her father was, staying at home and telling her that he got her a fiancé.

"I'm so sorry, Hime, I forgot. Please, just punish me." – She said nonchalantly and Lucy facepalmed.

"What happened to my mother, Virgo?" – Lucy shouted and shook Virgo's shoulder real hard.

"She sprained her ankle when she was gardening, Hime. And Jude-sama insisted that she must stay at the hospital. But other than that, I think she's fine." – Virgo bowed again and Lucy sighed with relief.

_Thank God. _Lucy didn't know how she would live if something bad happened to her mother. _I'll visit her after I'm done with this mess. _

"Okay, thank you, Virgo. I have to go now, bye." – She hugged her maid, then ran out of the room. She needed to get out of here as soon as possible, her father must be really mad at her right now. Once again, she pulled out the cell phone and tried calling Weisslogia.

_I wonder if mama agreed to this or not. Maybe not, she always said that she want me to be happy, this arranged marriage is not something sounds… happy. C'mon, uncle, pick up the phone._

Lucy slowed her pace. There was no need to rush, she had to think first.

'_Hello.'_

"Oh thank God, uncle, there's something I need to tell you."

_'Lucy? Okay, what's wrong?'_

"Where are you uncle? It's too loud, are you home?"

_'No, I'm at the company Lucy, we're celebrating 10 years of the foundation.' _– The noise died down, maybe he moved to where it was quieter.

"Uncle, is Hazumi there?" – She hoped not, Lucy didn't want to say this to Weisslogia with her presence in front of him.

_'No, she's home, she said that she __was tired__ so she didn't come. Lucy what's wrong?"_

"Uncle…" – Lucy bid her lip. _Should I tell him now or should I wait?_ - "You have to believe me when I say this to you…" – _Okay, no turning back now, don't hesitate. _– "I had my butler find some information about Hazumi and… We found out that she was married before. Uncle… Her husband was Hanes Redwood… You know who he was, right, uncle?… Uncle?" – Lucy held her breath, waiting for Weisslogia's response.

"Uncle, are you all right?" – Lucy said again, this time louder.

"Ye… Yeah, Lucy, I know… He was Sting's biological father…" - He murmured and Lucy had to try so hard to hear what he was saying.

"Uncle…"

"I have to go." – He said swiftly and she heard nothing more but the 'toot' sound of the hung up. She sighed, then quickened her step to her friends' house. Lucy hoped that Sting and Rogue weren't home yet. She wanted to talk to _that woman_ first.

* * *

Lucy took out her own key from her pocket. She was family to them, so they thought that it would be okay if she had their key.

"Hazumi?" – Lucy pushed the door open quietly. She had to admit that she was a little scared after she found out who Hazumi really was. According to what she had read in the file, that woman could go crazy if she didn't careful.

She looked for her in the kitchen and the living room, but Hazumi was nowhere to be found.

"Strange, her shoes are outside." – She thought, but then heard a noise from Sting's room, so she decided to check it.

"Hazu-… What do you think you're doing?" – Lucy frowned. The woman was standing in the middle of his room, contemplating herself in her hand mirror, around her neck was a locket.

"Oh, Lucy? What are you doing here, honey? I was cleaning Sting's room when I caught this under his bed, so I just… Tried it on, no big deal, right?" – She said and got back to look at herself in the mirror.

Lucy moved forwards and yanked the locket away from her.

"You're a liar, you know that, this locket belonged to aunt Belle – Sting's mother, he loves it very much and he will never let it lay under the bed. He keeps it in the drawer next to his mother's photograph. Tell me, Hazumi, you were cleaning his room, or you were rummaging around?" – Hazumi seemed stunned, Lucy was always very nice to her.

"O… kay? It's just a locket, Lucy - from his mother and she was six-feet under, I'm going to be his new mother sooner or later, don't make a fuss about this, dear." – She narrowed her eyes and Lucy glared back, folding her arms.

"I'm sorry to tell you that it's not gonna happen, not now, not ever. You're gonna be kicked out of this house sooner or later, Hazumi… Or should I say… Suzuki?" – Lucy said and Hazumi's eyes widened. _She knew?_

"What are you talking about, Lucy?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Suzuki, I know exactly who you are, your curtain has fallen."

She pulled the chair from Sting's desk and sat on it, facing Suzuki, who just kept staring at her blankly. Lucy opened the file she was holding and read it out loud.

"I'll skip unnecessary details about your identity. Straight to the point, your husband was Hanes Redwood, ex-husband of Belle Eucliffe – Sting's mother. 5 years after their divorce, you two were married. A year after your wedding he broke into a house and tortured a woman there when her husband was away, in front of their son. He shot her after that and the son shot him in defense…"

Lucy closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath. – "That husband was Weisslogia, that wife was aunt Belle, and the son… Was Sting." – She mumbled that last part. Her heart was clenched at the thought about what happened to him. She opened her eyes to look at the woman in front of her again.

"How do you know?" – She asked coldly and Lucy scoffed.

"No matter how hard you try to hide it, I'll always find out anything if I want to, I'm a Heartfilia, remember?" – Suzuki gave her a sick laugh, different from all the laughs Lucy had heard from her before.

"Weisslogia was right, you are smart. Guess that I underestimated you, kid. I thought you were just a blond bimbo, nothing more and nothing less." – She smirked and Lucy glared at her harder. She hated it when people called her bimbo.

"Hanes Redwood, my dear husband. I was crazy in love with him back then. We met at a club where I was working as a stripper. White hair, blue eyes, he was so handsome." – Suzuki said, closing her eyes and the images of her lover flooded back.

"Why are you here, Suzuki?" – Lucy said, ending her daydream.

"To take back what is mine." – She gritted her teeth. – "You know what is the most painful thing when you're in love, Lucy? For it to be unrequited. Hanes never loved me, he always loved that bitch."

"Don't you dare to talk about her like that." – Lucy snapped, Suzuki just smirked.

"Hanes was as crazy about her as I was crazy about him. 5 years passed and he could never forget her. He was extremely jealous when he heard that she was going to be married to Weisslogia – an attractive and talented man." – Her expression suddenly turned solemn, like she was in pain.

"But I don't care, I love him and that's all that mattered, I just needed to be with him, to stay by his side, because he was all I need. My father abandoned me, I had no friends, my man didn't love me. _That woman, _she had everything I wanted: a son, a husband who loved her dearly, a home." – She snickered sickly.

"BUT THAT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THAT SLUT, SHE HAD TO TAKE THE LAST THING THAT I HAD EVER LOVED." – Suzuki screamed and Lucy was startled, but she tried to calm her breath. _She's crazy._

"After his death, I was depressed and had to go to a mental asylum in Seven. 8 years later, my father, because of a little affection and gratitude that he had left, freed me from there. I barely started a new life and when I read an article about _that man, _those memories came back." – Suzuki was looking outside of the window, the sun was setting down. She turned to face Lucy, who was still listening carefully.

"I sold every I had and moved to Fiore. I'm here for revenge, my dear. My plan was working perfectly fine, I was going to separate this family and take everything they have…" – She dragged a half-smile out of her lips and walked near Sting's desk. She pulled out a drawer to find something. Lucy's eyes were following her movements.

"But… A little gossiper had to butt in and ruin it. *sigh*… Teenagers these days need to learn to mind their own business." – Suzuki raised her arms, a scissors was in her hand and she aimed at Lucy's head. The scissors whoosh across the room, Lucy's eyes widened, but she dodged it just in time.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU CRAZY?" – She shouted and Suzuki laughed insanely.

"Tsk… I used to be in an asylum, remember?" – She rushed at Lucy and grabbed the scissors that was plunging into the door, Suzuki was about to stab the girl at the shoulder, yet, Lucy evaded it again. Instead, Suzuki snatched her hair when she tried to run to the door. Lucy cried in pain.

"Where are you going, little bird?" – She brandished the scissors again, but Lucy kicked her stomach, making her fall against the door. Lucy looked around the room to find something she could use as a weapon. _The lamp. _She rushed to the dressing-table, but Suzuki was faster. The woman grabbed her arms, then pinned Lucy down on the bed and attempted to stab at her face.

"DIE, DIE, DIE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

"HELP!" – Lucy screamed and moved her head to dodge; the scissors scratched her cheek and red blood appeared on the tip of the metal object.

She grabbed the pillow to block another jab and tried her best to kick the bigger woman away from her. Finally, Lucy reached the lamp on the dressing-table and swung it at Suzuki's face. The woman lost her balance and Lucy quickly got up. Yet again, Suzuki grabbed her ankle before she got the chance to get out of the bed. She kicked her in the face. Lucy, terrified by the hand still grasping her leg, repeated the movement. Suzuki let go after the third kick.

"You're annoying, you know that, motherfucker." – Suzuki didn't give up, her secret was revealed, it was just a matter of time before Weisslogia and his sons found out, she had nothing left to lose.

"If you didn't exist, maybe my plan would go smoothly." – She licked the tip of the scissors, which was stained in Lucy's blood. Lucy was standing on one side of the bed while Suzuki was standing on the other side, blocking the way to the door.

Lucy turned around to opened the door leading to balcony, trying to find a way to get down. Suzuki ran at her with her scissors again. This time, she aimed at her stomach.

"STOP IT!" – Lucy shouted and grasped her hand to prevent Suzuki from stabbing her. She moved to hammerlock the crazy woman from behind, but unintentionally pushed her too hard. Suzuki lost her balance and tripped over the balcony.

"NO!" – Lucy gripped Suzuki's arm, trying to pulled her up.

"Don't… let… go!" – Lucy yelled, but her own hands were slipping. Suzuki laughed madly again.

"Hypocrite." - She gritted her teeth. Suddenly, the hanging woman used the scissors to stab Lucy's hand, making her cry out in pain. Her other hand tugged on Lucy's pony-tail, hard enough to drag the girl down with her. Both of them fell off the balcony. During the short flight, Suzuki continued to jab her shoulder and the girl almost blackened out, but before she lost her consciousness, she heard a blurred voice…

"LUCY!"

_Sting? Rogue? _

She felt something hard beneath her and everything went dark.

* * *

"Okay, people, that's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow." – Sting said and everybody on the basketball court got ready to leave.

"Hey, Rogue, something's wrong?" – Sting asked when he realized his friend didn't focus. – "You seem worried."

Rogue knitted his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, something's wrong, but… I don't know what it is."

"Okay? Maybe you're hungry."

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, keep telling yourself until your dinner time… " – He grabbed his bag and took out his phone to check some messages. _5 missing calls from Lucy?. _

"5 missing calls from Lucy?" – Rogue said out loud like he was reading Sting's mind.

"You, too?" – Rogue nodded and pressed the call button.

"She's not picking up?" – Sting added when Rogue hung up.

"Yeah, it went to the voice mail." – Sting shrugged and both started to walk home. _Maybe she wanted to join us for the dinner? _Rogue thought.

"Hey, Sting, has father told you about whether you could move outside or not?" – Rogue asked although he already knew the answer.

"He declined, I bet it's because of _that woman. _Urggg… What am I suppose to do to get away from her, Rogue?" – Sting groaned. Rogue didn't answer, he was deep in thought again. _I wonder how far has Lucy got with her little investigation? haven't heard from her for four days._

"Don't worry, they say we reap as we sow, so if she's a bad person, she won't stay in this home for long." – He said calmly. They turned left and their house appeared under the fading sunlight.

"I feel bad for dad, because he's going to bring home a devil… Oh wait, he already has." – He rolled his eyes and Rogue snored.

"HELP!" – They froze at the scream coming from their house. _Lucy. _Both of them ran back rapidly to their house. Rogue was faster. He slammed the door open and looked around to find Lucy. Sting was following closely behind.

"LUCY?" – They both shouted and another yell answered them.

"NO!" – _Upstairs. _They thought, then sprinted to where they had heard her voice. Sting pushed the door open to find Hazumi grabbing Lucy's hair. Their eyes widened in horror and before they could rush at her side, Lucy fell off.

"LUCY!"

_No, __no,__ no, please, please, don't do this to me, Lucy. _They ran out of the house to the back yard and Rogue pulled out his phone to call the ambulance.

"Lucy, no. Please, wake up." – Sting knelt down and hugged her body closely to him. _Oh, my God. _

"ROGUE, STING!" – Weisslogia hastily approached them, he was opening the door when he heard his sons' yell. – "Oh, God, get them to the car, now." – Sting scooped her in his arms and did what his father said. Rogue carried Hazumi on his back. Weisslogia drove on his fastest speed to bring the unconscious women to the nearest hospital.

Rogue pulled out his shirt and pressed to her wound to stop the blood loss. _So much… blood. _Sting shut his eyes, tears began to gather at the corner of his eyes, some of them fell down on her cheek. His mind was full of those images again. _Mommy, please help her, I can't lose her. _Rogue bid his lip, he touched her hand but it was so cold. It worried him even more. Her usually warm hand was so cold right now. He tried to hold back tears, his whole body was shaking. He looked at the unconscious woman lying next to him.

_I hope you die and if you don't, I will make you. _He thought angrily.

* * *

Weisslogia held his head between his hands. _This is all my fault. _Lucy was an innocent girl, she was like a daughter to him, and he didn't know what would happen if they lose her. He probably would have to live with this sin for the rest of his life.

He lifted his head to look at his sons. Their expressions were blank and it broke his heart. He had lost the woman he loved 10 years ago and now, he lost them. _I didn't deserve __to be__ their father, what am I supposed to tell Layla and Jude?. _They were waiting outside the emergency room, the doctors were conducting a surgery. He called Jude just a minute ago and he knew he couldn't get away from Jude's rage. Not like he wanted to, whatever he was to get, he was sure that he deserved it.

"Where is she? Where is my daughter?" – Layla ran to Weisslogia and grabbed the front of his shirt. She had forgotten about her sprained ankle the moment she heard that her precious daughter was in the hospital. He hung down his head and told them what happened. Caprico then explained everything he had found about Hazumi to Jude, Layla, Weisslogia and his sons. The Weisslogia barely had time to react when the breadwinner of the family received a punch from the most wealthy man in country.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" – Jude shouted and punched Weisslogia's face, breaking his nose, but he didn't fight back. It took Sting, Rogue, and a male nurse to keep Jude away from him. Layla almost fainted from what she had heard.

_My daughter. _She thought and busted into a convulsive sobs. The heavy air embraced all of them, nobody said anything. They were all quiet, only the gentle sobs of Layla were to be heard. Sting covered his eyes and cried silently again. He was praying for Lucy's sake.

_Please, help her, mommy. Please, bring her back to me, to us. _

After 2 hours of waiting, the door of the surgery room opened and a man in white blouse walked out. They all rushed to him.

"Doctor, how is my daughter?"

"Lucy Heartfilia?" – He asked and they all nodded.

"The critical condition is gone, but she would be in a coma for the next few days."

"How are her injuries? Are they serious?" – Jude said impatiently.

"She was stabbed in left hand, left shoulder and fell down from the first floor, but luckily for the girl, the woman… Miss Hazumi, she hit the ground first, so Lucy had avoided the brain injury. Miss Hazumi, however, couldn't make it. I'm so sorry." – He said and they didn't know what else to do but nodded, all of them feeling kinda relieved.

_Thank God. _

* * *

**[A week later]**

"Sting, focus!" – Rogue yelled, but Sting missed another pass of Rufus. His teammates eyed their captain with worry. It had been a week since _that accident, _the news spread around the school like fire and Lucy's close friends from F1 were furious. If it weren't for Jellal, Sabertooth and Fairy Tail would have a fight. They knew it wasn't Sting nor Rogue's fault, but the case happened at their house, so her friends couldn't help but blame them for not being able to protect her. The tension between two guilds had a chance to blow up again.

Hazumi/Suzuki was dead. Only her parents came to her funeral, a death of a meaningless life. Sting heard from Caprico about the true identity of Hazumi at the hospital, but he didn't care anymore. The only worry lingering in his mind was Lucy. The woman had finally got out of their life, but the price was too big. Sting and Rogue came to visits her regularly, but she wouldn't open her eyes. Sometimes her friends would be there, too, but they didn't talk.

He wanted to see those chocolate-browns pupils so badly, looking at him with mischief and vitality, he wanted to hear her yell at him or even hit him, to see her face blush in embarrassment. He missed her smile, her laugh. She was too quiet, the Lucy he knew wasn't quiet like that. Sting was sorrowful the whole week and except for Rogue, people hardly talked to him anymore, because they didn't know when he would bust. He didn't even mind, he just wanted people to leave him alone.

"Sorry." – He murmured.

Rogue sighed, he didn't know how long he could keep Sting in line. Between two of them, Rogue was the one who had to be of sound mind when this kind of situation came up. Both of them couldn't be defeated at the same time. Without Lucy, he was the only one who could lead Sting go through this dark path.

"Focus, Sting, Lucy will laugh at your face when she wakes up and sees you play like a dork." – He deadpanned and Sting frowned – his usual expression lately.

"I don't play like a dork."

"Then focus, the sport congress is going to happen in 2 weeks and Fairy Tail will skin you alive with their rage if you'll keep on staggering like a zombie." – Rogue pinched Sting's ear, making him yelp.

"Oww, what the hell, you asshole?"

"Look at me when I'm talking to you."

"I'm worried, okay? Give me a break." – Sting scowled and Rogue nudged him, hard.

"You think I'm not? But worrying is not gonna help her wake up, Sting. You have to believe in her, she's a strong girl, she will make it." – _She has to. _He thought.

Sting let out a heavy sigh.

"Yeah." – He nodded.

* * *

"You bought roses?" – Sting asked. He was holding a bag full of milk and fruits, he was going to give them to Layla – Lucy's mother. Her health was getting bad because of her anxiousness, Lucy would be upset if her mother was sick.

"Yeah, the Lilies her friends sent were withered. Beside Orchid, Lucy likes all kind of flowers, too, so don't worry." – Rogue said, enjoying the bunch of red roses. A little color would bring something fresh to Lucy's sickroom.

They were walking to Lucy's room when they saw Layla's head poke out.

"Doctor! My daughter has awakened." – She called and a doctor with some nurses quickly came in. Rogue and Sting shared a look, then ran to her place.

"Aunt Layla! Lucy has awakened?" – She smiled widely at them, tears were in her eyes and she nodded. They walked in and Lucy immediately turned to look at them.

"Lucy!" - They almost shouted, totally forgetting that they were in a hospital.

"Miss Lucy, how do you feel?" – The doctor asked gently.

"Ehm… fine, I guess?" – She said quietly, looking around slowly as if she was searching for something. She looked back at the boys and they beamed at her. Rogue waved at her, she forced a small smile. Sting frowned slightly, his heart was roaming against his throat.

"Her condition is stable, Mrs. Heartfilia, you can see her now. If there's something wrong, just tell me." – The doctor examined her and said to Layla. The staff left, leaving Sting, Rogue, and Layla with her.

"Hey, Lucy, honey. Are you thirsty or something? Can I get anything?" – Layla caressed her cheek, but Lucy just kept staring at the woman and two boys with her big eyes. She tilted her head and asked.

"Who are you? And what happened?"

...

**End of chapter 12**

* * *

**I felt bad when I wrote the scene between Lucy and Hazumi/Suzuki :D. Huhm... maybe I should have made her live longer, is this chapter too rush? XD. **

**The idea about Lucy loosing her memory seems cliché. I hope you don't mind. :D**

**Anyway thank you for reading, I'll see you guys soon ^^~**


	13. Chapter 13 - New life

**Chào mọi người! Hi, everyone XD It's Merikatori again!**

**Thank you for reading, following, making this your favorite!**

**Special thanks to: AnimexXxLuvver, Rizuki Dhan, zin-chan-luvs-u, Annechase, xxXScarletHeartXxx, ZaxForever, SimplyIsabelleS (my beta 3), Nalu StiLu Rolu Love, Guest, nicole143mb and TelloPello for reviewing! Your reviews made me so happy!**

TellePello: **I'm glad that you enjoyed it :D Honesty, I really don't know XD But I asked Google-sama and I think it does XD**

NaLu StiLu Rolu Love: **Well, I love my life, so here your newest chapter :))**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

**Pure**

**Chapter 13 - New life**

Urgg…Where am I?_ – The girl opened her eyes, rubbing them to clear her vision. She blinked, it took her almost thirty seconds to become aware of the fact that all around her it was black and she couldn't see anything. Her mind was empty. _

What happened?

_She stood up and begun to walk carefully. She was scared that she might fall because of the darkness. The girl blinked again, but squeezed her eyes shut when a headache appeared_. Gahh…._ She pinched the bridge of her nose to stop the pain. _

_The girl re-opened her eyes and saw her surroundings changed. She spotted a white straight line at the horizon. Slowly, the line curved into different shapes all around her: buildings, streets, lamps, a school, a very big house – she guessed. All of them were black, but they bordered with white, so she could figure out their shapes. It looked like a painting, she thought. The girl suddenly heard laughter and she spun around to find the source of the noise. _

_"Hello?" – She called, but nobody answered her. Out of nowhere, a group of… people appeared. She knew that they were talking and laughing and teasing one another, but she couldn't figure out what they were talking about. The strangest thing was they were all white, like paper, with no faces or clothes, just white human shapes. Lucy frowned. _Where the hell is this place?._ She lifted her hands and looked at them, but it was so dark. Those shades walked pass her and she opened her mouth._

_"H… hello?" _

_Right after that, all those forms stopped and everything was quiet for a moment. They suddenly started to come near her and she took a step back, scared. Her mouth was rigid although she didn't feel intimidated._

_They approached her slowly, closer, closer, until their shapes joined together in one, then it came even closer and faster. She started to panic. The white shadow raised its arm while holding something that looked like a knife. The girl turned around to run, but the shadow changed to some kind of rope and gripped both of her arms. A sharp bolt of pain burst in her hand and shoulder. She cried, but no sound came out. That was when she found herself falling into the darkness with no ending point._

* * *

Her eyes snapped open. There was a white ceiling facing her. The girl panted slightly and winced in pain when she tried to sit up. She slowly looked to the left and saw a cardiograph which was running monotonously. _I'm in… A hospital?. _Her left hand was bandaged, as well as her left shoulder, she could see the white cloth under her light blue shirt. The girl frowned at her injuries, but her face stretched when she heard a small groan. She turned to look at her right arm. Her hand was held by a woman and she was sleeping, the girl assumed. She stirred her fingers and the woman woke up immediately. She widened her eyes.

"Lucy! Thank God, you're okay."

_Lucy? My name is Lucy? Why don't I remember that?. _She thought, but before she could say anything, the woman quickly opened the door and sticked her head out.

"Doctor! My daughter has awakened."

_Daughter? She's my mom? No, she's not my mom. My mom is… Who is my mom? _She frowned.

A doctor with two nurses appeared and they swiftly checked her state. Following them there were the woman and… Two guys. One of them was blond and the other had black hair.

"Lucy!" – They said loudly and the girl blinked at them.

"Miss Lucy, how do you feel?" – _Okay, so my name's Lucy. _She looked back at the doctor.

"Ehh… Fine, I guess?" – The doctor nodded. Lucy took her time to look around the room. There were two closed windows on the left and it was pretty dark outside. She turned to look at the clock on the opposite wall, it was 6.30 PM. On her right, there was a small table with lots of gifts, cards, and a bunch of red Roses.

She diverted her look to those guys and they smiled widely. She locked her eyes with the one who had black hair. He waved at her.

_Seriously, who are they? _She forced a smile. _Maybe it'll be impolite to not return their gesture. _She was about to raised her hand to wave back, but the doctor cut her short.

"Her condition is stable, Mrs. Heartfilia, you can see her now. If there's something wrong, just tell me." – And with that, he and the nurses left. The woman quickly approached her. She stroked Lucy's cheeks and asked nicely.

"Hey, Lucy, honey. Are you thirsty or something? Can I get you anything?" – Lucy blinked and stared at them again.

_Come one, try to think, who are they?_

She tried to force her brain to work, but nothing came out. She was slightly panicked, but she told herself to calm down. Lucy tilted her head and asked.

"Who are you? And what happened?"

* * *

Layla, Rogue, and Sting were stunned at her question.

"What do you mean, Lucy? This is not funny, we're so worried about you." – Layla said. Rogue exchanged a wordless glance with Sting. Perhaps they both knew what was going on.

Lucy scowled. - "No, I'm serious, who are you? You're my mom? Why can't I remember you? – Lucy started mouthing, her nervousness was rising at the woman's answer. – "What happened to my hand, my shoulder? Who are they? Where is my family?" – Her breath quickened. The duo widened their eyes and instantly came to her sides while Layla took her hand.

"Hey, hey, Lucy… Calm down, honey. I'm here, I'm your mother. Calm down, okay? Breath." – She said and Lucy slowly regain her composure.

"That's it, inhale, exhale. Just, be cool, okay? Everything will be fine, I promise." – Layla kissed her forehead, making her feel warm.

"Lucy…" – Rogue called quietly and Lucy turned to him. She tried to think again, but gave up when a slight pain slowly came to her head.

"Are you my family?" – She asked innocently and he smiled tenderly at her.

"Yes, Lucy. I'm your family. We're you family." – He said, gesturing at Sting and himself.

"Oh, so… Who is younger?" – Her look darted between two guys who were staring quizzically at her.

"Huh?"

"I mean, you're both my older brothers, or my younger brothers, or something?" – She said and their mouths dropped.

"What?!" – They almost yelled at her and Layla scolded them.

"Shhhh… both of you."

"Gomenasai, Layla-san…" – Sting scratched his head and turned to Lucy again. – "No, Lucy, we're not your brothers or anything. We're your friends, actually. I'm Sting and this is Rogue." – Sting smiled and Lucy was motionless for a second.

_His smile looks so sad. _She thought.

"Lucy, why didn't you tell the doctor that you can't remember anything in the first place?" – Layla stroked her hair.

"Well, I thought that I would remember after a while, but clearly I can't." – She murmured.

Rogue took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"It's fine, we're glad that you're okay." – Sting nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we could deal with this problem later." – He added. Lucy smiled at them and let out a relieved sigh. _I hope so. _

"Oh, and… What happened?"- She asked while yawning. Sting and Rogue looked at Layla, she slightly shook her head.

"It was an accident, you should rest and we'll tell you later, okay?" – Layla smiled and Lucy nodded. She lied down and Layla carefully tucked her in. Sleep came quickly and her mind was sunk in darkness.

Layla, Rogue, and Sting stayed together in silence, listening to her breath. Their minds, unlike hers, were filled with new anxiety. After almost ten minutes, Layla broke the silence in the room.

"She's fine now, Sting, Rogue. You two go home and rest, I'll talk to the doctor in the morning." – She smiled in motherly fashion at them.

They lifted their heads to look at her, then smiled back slightly. - "Hai, Layla-san." – The duo said obediently.

Rogue handed her the bag with fruits and milk, telling her to rest as well, and walked out. Sting kissed her cheek, then followed him.

Outside of the hospital, the sun had already set a while ago, the light from street's lamps lightened their way, but not their hearts and minds. Everything was gone. The way she looked at them with blank expression, it made them feel like all the memories they had together had never existed.

Sting sighed. He had hoped that when she woke up, he could tell her that how sad he had been all the week, that he appreciated what she had done, and he wouldn't let anything like this ever happened to her again. But, it didn't matter anymore.

"I mean what I said, she's okay and that's the best." – Rogue said, glancing at his companion. Sting quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I meant it, too. When I nodded in agreement, you know." – Sting rolled his eyes in irritation. Rogue made it sound like he attached more importance to Lucy's amnesia than Lucy's well-being.

"You look disappointed." – Rogue stated and Sting stared at him in disbelief.

"Seriously? Lucy-has-an-amnesia, it makes her loose all her memories about us, about her family, and friends. Of course I'm disappointed, what did you expect? I dare you to tell me that you don't feel the same." – Sting furrowed his brows.

"Yes, I do, but I also have a hunch that she's gonna regain her memories soon, so don't worry." – Rogue said calmly and Sting made a face.

"A hunch?" – Rogue nodded.

…

"A hunch." – Sting repeated.

"*sigh* Yes, a hunch." – Rogue replied.

"Hunch?" – Sting looked at his friend weirdly. Rogue sounded like some kind of psychic. Rogue gave him a bored look.

"Yeah, a feeling that something is gonna happen in future exactly as you expect it to, if you don't understand, google it." – Rogue responded mockingly. Sting only shrugged.

"Well, your hunch worked last time." – He murmured.

Both of them knew that he was referring to the time at the basketball court, before _that _happened.

"I wish we had come home earlier." – Sometimes, a minute or just mere ten seconds would make everything different. Sting sighed again. _Now that the damage is done, there's nothing we can change. _

"Focus on what's important, Sting. I hope that Lucy's amnesia is just temporary. Maybe we can help her recover or something." – Rogue patted Sting's back. _So do I._

* * *

**[5 days later]**

"Do they always behave like that?" – Lucy said, looking at her friends who were still bickering and wrestling, like usual.

"Yeah, always." – Levi smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Natsu, Gray, stop it. We're in the hospital." – Erza said firmly, leaving no room for argument and they immediately halted, mumbling apologies.

It had been five days since she woke up. The doctor had come to examine her condition again the next morning. He had said that because of Lucy's collision with the ground from her fall, her brain was having a post-traumatic amnesia. Amnesia was rather rare, however, he couldn't have told whether it was temporary or not. Some people only needed a week to get back to their previous condition, some people needed two weeks, sometimes a month. It depended on patients' cooperation. The doctor had said that he would write out a prescription for her to help her regain memories, but he had also said that if the recuperation process lasted more than two months, that meant she had to fill her mind with new ones.

Despair had been written all over Lucy's face when she had heard that. The chances now were 50/50, there was nothing that ensured she could completely recover. She had also asked her mother what had happened again, but Layla, along with Sting and Rogue, had decided Lucy should wait. That was horrible and definitely not something they should tell a patient when she was still recovering.

Besides Sting and Rogue, Erza, Natsu, Levi, Gray, sometimes Gajeel, and Juvia would come to see her every now and then. They talked much and her friends told her stories of 'the previous Lucy'. Lucy always listened carefully, but she found it hard to comprehend all of those thing about 'the previous Lucy' that they told her.

"Hey, when will you be discharged from hospital, Lucy? The sport congress is going to happen in about a week, we want you to come and see us playing against Sabertooth." – Natsu beamed and cracked his knuckles, he couldn't wait to crash those Tigers.

"Yeah, I really want to see their faces when the judges announce we are the winners." – Gray added excitedly.

"Huhmp… I'm not sure, but I think I will be released next week, hopefully before the game." – Lucy said, looking at the ceiling. Her hand and shoulder weren't fully healed yet. She still couldn't move them much, but they definitely had got better.

"I'm glad that you're okay, Lucy." – Natsu suddenly said, staring at her intently, she blinked.

"Thanks, Natsu." – And gave him a tender smile. Natsu looked at her ruddy face and his cheeks were slightly reddish, the room started to heat up.

Gray rolled his eyes while Levi and Erza exchanged a meaningful glance. As soon as Natsu lifter his head to look at her again to say something, he was cut off by a cough. All of them turned to the door to look at the intruders. Natsu even glared at them. The silence was settled among them, it was truly awkward and unbearable. Lucy eyes flew back and forth between her classmates and her childhood friends.

"Is… Something… Wrong?" – She hesitated. Erza looked at Lucy over her shoulder, maybe it was time to leave.

"Nothing. We should go now, sleep well, Lucy." – Erza gave her a small smile and Lucy waved at her. Levi hugged her slightly and followed the red-haired girl. Gray rubbed her hair and finally, Natsu pecked her cheek. She blushed at the gesture, not expecting such an act.

"Good night, Lucy." – He mumbled.

Natsu could feel a glare that screamed murder behind his back from a certain person, but he paid no heed. Lucy bid him a goodbye and Natsu walked slowly out of the room, not forgetting to glare at the blonde who was clearly waiting for him to get lost.

_Revenge is soooo sweet. _Natsu inwardly smirk.

Lucy stared at them. Somehow, the scene sent some déjà vu to her mind. Rogue raised his hand to greet her but she didn't notice him.

"Are you all right, Lucy?" – Rogue sensed her wandering thoughts and snapped her out of daydream. His hands were working with the vase and the flowers on the small table beside her sickbed.

"Y…yeah." – She said, reassuring him. The door closed and Sting breathed out in irritation. _He did it on purpose. _He moved to sit on the chair near her bed, smiling at her.

"What was that?" – Lucy asked.

"What… Was what?" – Sting responded, cocking his head.

"I could clearly feel the pressure between you and Natsu, why? You two don't get along?" – She required.

_Exactly. _Sting thought.

"Yeah, we weren't very fond of each other. In short, he hates me and the feeling is mutual." – Rogue snorted at the statement, Sting sent him a glare.

"Hate? Oh please, you don't hate him." – Rogue murmured quietly but Lucy caught that. She gave Sting a look of pure surprise.

Sting sighed before said in uncaring manner. – "Well, I don't practically like him either. But you, Rogue, admire him so much, don't you? – Sting smirked at his friends, Lucy's look transferred to Rogue and he rolled his eyes.

"Admired, not admire."

"Why?" – Lucy cocked her head aside. – "Something happened between you guys in the past?".

"Mostly between Sting and Natsu, I'm not involved..." – Rogue paused, peeling an apple before spoke again. - "…And the reason for what happened was totally stupid." – Rogue deadpanned. He handed her a small piece of apple. Lucy took it, then thanked him.

"It's not stupid and he started it, okay?" – Sting grunted, his partner just merely shrugged. Sting looked back at Lucy who was munching the fruit like a squirt, clearly expecting him to tell the anecdote like a kid waiting for bedtime story.

He sighed. - "It happened when we were ten…"

* * *

**_[Flashback]_**

_"Hey, Rogue, have you seen Lector?" – Sting asked, frantically looking around to find the red cat. Today was 'Pet's day', everyone in his class had to bring a pet and introduce it to his/her classmates. It was playtime and Sting had left Lector in his class to go to the restroom, he couldn't bring a cat along when he was relieving himself._

_"You lost Lector again?" – Rogue raised a eyebrow, Sting pouted._

_"I didn't lose it, it went outside without my permission." – Sting groaned, Rogue rolled his eyes at his friend's stupidity. _It's a cat, it didn't need your permission to go out.

_He clicked his tongue and sighed. - "Fine, let's go find it." – With that, they started to search for Lector. Two young boys checked every place they could think of and asked everyone they thought that could have seen the cat, but it was nowhere to be found. _

_"Have you found it?" – Sting asked while opened another trashcan. Rogue shook his head, but remembered that his friend couldn't see him. He stood up behind a bush._

_"Nope." – He sighed, hands were on either his hip. He looked at the his friend again._

_"If you were Lector, where would you go?" – He asked. Sting turned to face his friend and put a finger on his chin to think._

_"Somewhere that has food?" – He shrugged. Rogue knitted his eyebrow in concentration._

_*tink*_

_His face lit up and he punched his palm. _

_"The backyard!" – He exclaimed, then dragged Sting, who was still confused at his friend outburst, to where he was heading. _

_There was a large fish tank that was placed in the middle of the vegetable garden at the backyard. It was for decoration and relax purpose when children were tired of planting. Lector was probably there. They turned around a corner, the white fence became bigger and bigger with every step they took._

_No sooner did they arrive to the garden, they heard some grunts from a cat. Two cats, actually. They halted when they saw Lector and a blue cat were facing and growling at each other. Lector seemed like it was having the upper hand. Besides them, there was another 'creature', a clown fish which was struggling convulsively on the ground. Yeah, you could guess what happened._

_"What the heck?" – Sting asked loudly when two cats suddenly dashed at each other, scratching the 'enemy's' fluffy face._

_"Happy!" – A shout was heard and the duo turned to look at the source of the noise. _

Natsu-san? _Rogue thought. It was Natsu Dragneel - captain of class 1-5 soccer team._

_Rogue never admitted this to anyone, even Sting, but he secretly admired Natsu very much. Natsu was naturally good at sports. Rogue, however, hated them. He was never good at them, therefore, he found sports a real waste of energy. That's why, when he saw Natsu playing so confidently and full of determination, he couldn't help but feel a great amount of respect for him. _

_Since then, he started to practice playing soccer. Although he still hated sports and was nowhere as good as him, he began to think that maybe playing something wasn't so bad. He wished that he could surpass the boy someday, but he knew it would be so, so, so hard. _

_"Happy? Who names a cat Happy?" – Sting quirked his eyebrow as Natsu came to scope the blue cat in his arms. Sting, on the other hand, considered Natsu as a goal that he needed to defeat. Since Natsu became the captain of class 1-2, his team was the only one that could overcome Sting's team from class 1-5._

_"I named it Happy, you got a problem with that?" – Natsu glared at him. The red cat hopped to his arms before purred in delight when Sting pet its head. The blonde smirked. Rogue moved to pick up the fish, then allowed it to go back to its home, which was the fish tank._

_"Happy!" – Natsu gasped when he saw scratches were all over Happy's face, the small cat mewled in pain. - "What did you do to Happy?" – He asked Sting angrily. _

_"I didn't do anything, Lector did." – Sting said innocently._

_"Why did your cat scratch Happy?"_

_"Huh?" – Sting cocked his head aside._

_"Why did your cat scratch mine?" – Natsu lowed his voice in attempt to make it sound more dangerous, but ended up having to clear his throat to ask again, because Sting seemed like he couldn't hear him._

_"How would I know?" – Sting glared at the boy. – "Maybe your cat disturbed him while he was eating." – He sent Natsu a pointed look._

_"Happy never disturb anyone. Your cat did." – He said in an accusing tone._

_"Pardon me? Lector is the most polite cat I've ever met in my entire life…" – He said proudly, not noticing that Rogue was snickering behind his back. – "… Therefore, it must be your cat that disturbed mine."_

_"No, it didn't." – Natsu retorted back._

_"Yes, it did." – Sting exclaimed._

_"Your cat is a bully." – Natsu accused, pointing a finger at Lector._

_"Well, your cat is weak and a rude one." – Sting shrugged._

_"It is not weak and not rude, your cat is!" – Natsu yelled. Both of them started to approach each other, throwing insults at the other's cat, which was returning 'disturb', 'rude', 'polite', 'weak', and some other things completely off-topic. Rogue took off his sandals and sat on them in Indian style, putting his chin on his palm, watching the scene played out in front of him with a wide grin._

_"You could never be a teacher, because you can't even teach your cat not to disturb the other cat's meal!" – Natsu yelled at Sting._

_"Excuse you, but I want to be an astronaut, not a teacher! Lector is smart so it could learn it by itself. You are a bad owner, like owner, like cat! – Sting shouted back. He took a step forward to face his 'goal' nearer, but suddenly slipped. _

_In Rogue's eyes, it was like a slow motion scene in an action movie. Natsu and Sting's eyes widened (as well as Rogue's). Sting swung his arms in the air, throwing Lector in the process, his body was slowly leaning toward Natsu. Natsu, thinking that Sting was trying to hit him, took a step back to take his fighting attitude. Happy jumped off his arms. Unfortunately, it was too late. Sting successfully 'attacked' him, he (unintentionally) pinned Natsu to the ground. They both fell with a loud thud. Natsu quickly aimed a punch at Sting's face, almost breaking the boy's nose. Sting, thinking that Pinky (Natsu's nickname since primary school) was using his unbalance to start a fight, fought back. Two boys started wrestling and punching small fists at each other. _

_The motion back to its normal speed, Rogue quickly stood up to stop them._

_"Okay, stop… Sting… let go of him. Natsu… stop!" – He yelled but either of them heard him…_

**_[End of flashback]_**

* * *

"Okay… But, what was next?" – Lucy asked when Sting finished his story.

"The principal had to call their parents to his office… You know what happened after that. Since then, they became more hostile to each other. Natsu moved to Edolas when he was eleven. Four years later, we met again at Fiore Academy in our first year." – Rogue finished other details. Lucy nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, that's not my fault. That fight proved that he had violent sign when he was young…" – Sting paused. – "... You should stay away from him." – He added, putting on his innocent face.

Rogue smirked knowingly while Lucy made a face.

"Rogue said it was just an accident, it didn't count as 'violent sign'." – She made air quote with her right hand.

"Y… Yeah, right…But he didn't think that was an accident in first place, he jumped in conclusion and punched me first, so it counted." – He replied stubbornly.

"I don't know, it sounds pretty…stupid…" – She trailed off but quickly changed the topic. – "But… You know it was a misunderstanding, why didn't you two make up and be friend with each other?" – Sting, who was looking at her, narrowed his eyes and diverted his look to Rogue.

"Well, our dear friend, Rogue, hadn't told me that it was an accident until after Natsu-san came to America. He said it was fun to see us still fight because of some stupid misunderstanding in the past." – He said accusingly.

"That was my only source of entertainment beside hanging out with Lucy." – Rogue said with a poker-face. Lucy didn't know why, but she suddenly felt shy at his statement.

Sting rolled his eyes at friend's evilness, but didn't retort back.

A comfortable silence settled in the room, yet, it disappeared when the door to her sickroom opened. Lucy turned to look at the men and smiled widely at her father.

"Dad!" – Jude was stunned for a moment before he pulled himself together again. No matter how many time Lucy called him 'dad' since she woke up, he still couldn't get used to it. She always called him 'father' before, sounding more formal. Jude smiled tenderly at her.

"Good evening, Lucy." – He turned to the standing duo and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'll take care of you for a few days, your mother needs some rest." – He said.

…

Silence once again embraced the atmosphere, this time, it was very uncomfortable. Rogue and Sting weren't very close with Jude. There were always some kind of silent tension among them. Sting never knew why and neither did Rogue. Jude, however, didn't care.

_Awkward. _Rogue thought and decided to leave.

"Maybe we should go, good night Luce." – Rogue waved at her then bowed at Jude. Sting did the same, he also wanted to kiss her goodbye, but finally decided against it. That perhaps wasn't a very good ideal with her father's presence.

Jude waited for them to leave, then sat down on the chair that was occupied by Rogue a while ago.

"How do you feel, Lucy?" – He asked. Although he was pretty busy, he still tried to find some time to visit his daughter.

"I'm fine, dad." – Lucy smiled. It was a rare sight to see his daughter smile at him. He wondered why he didn't notice his daughter's beautiful smile before. Lucy was closer to her mother than father, because Jude was always busy with work. Although Layla usually scolded him for spending more time at work than with his daughter, he still couldn't rearrange his schedule to play with her. Of course, 'this Lucy' didn't know that. Jude sighed quietly.

_Maybe some other time. _

He came here with the intention to tell her about Loke, but maybe that could wait. Loke came to visit her when she was still in coma, yet, he was busy in Brazil after that, so Lucy still hadn't met him. Even thought she lost her memories, he knew she would act exactly the same way that she used to when he first told her that she had a fiancé.

"How was your work today?" – She asked in attempt to start a conversation.

Jude smiled a small smile at her and told her about his day. He felt bad when he thought about this, but… Somewhere deep down inside, there was a little piece of him that was thankful for her lost memories.

* * *

**[A week later, 5 days before the sport congress.]**

Lucy got off her father's Roll-Royce and stood in front of the biggest mansion she thought that she'd ever seen. She took a deep breath. It was refreshing to be able to smell something different from scent of the hospital. Cool wind, the smell of the grass and wild flowers helped her mind relax. Layla adjusted Lucy's trench coat to keep her warm, Sting and Rogue followed closely behind. Lucy had been released from the hospital today, the duo came to help her and Layla moving Lucy's important things from the hospital and the dorm back to her room at home. Her mother insisted that she stayed at the mansion so that Lucy could be taken care of better.

Two young boys came to open the gate and they beamed at her. It was Gemi and Mini, the twin gardeners of Heartfilia's mansion. Lucy waved back in courtesy, although she didn't know who they were. She looked at the big house in awe, it was splendid. Lucy couldn't believe that she lived in a place like that.

"It's funny to see her like this, because she used to dislike this place, saying that it was bored and stuff." – Sting whispered to Rogue and the guys chuckled. Lucy caught that, but she didn't say anything.

"Layla-sama, Lucy-sama, welcome home." – Caprico and Virgo bowed and nodded at Rogue and Sting.

"Thank you, Caprico, Virgo." – Layla smiled, then turned to look at her daughter. – "He'll lead you to your room. I'll make you something to eat. Rogue, can you give me a hand, my dear?" – Layla kissed Lucy's forehead and smiled at Rogue. She had something to talk to him.

"Of course, Layla-san." – Rogue and Layla left, leaving Caprico, Virgo, Lucy, and Sting standing in the middle of the hall.

"Right this way, Lucy-sama." – Caprico gestured them to follow him.

Every servant that they passed by bowed and smiled to Lucy in a welcome back manner. They were all worried when they heard that she was in the hospital. Lucy nodded at every single one of them, sometimes she forced a smile that was clearly fake.

Sting noticed her actions and he was slightly worried. He didn't know how long it would take for her to recover, but he was afraid that if she didn't regain her memories soon, she would never be the same Lucy that they knew. Lucy was slowly turned to someone else, she rarely smiled genuinely and he still didn't hear her laugh _once _since she had woken up. Her mind was usually like it was wandering somewhere else, looking for something. When he asked if there was something wrong, she would simply nod and say that she's fine when she was clearly not.

_Perhaps I should act like I normally do, doctor said that maybe it would help her recall something that she forgets._

Caprico opened the door quietly and Virgo pulled her baggage inside. Lucy stepped in and jumped.

"Something's wrong, Luce?" – Sting put a hand on her shoulder, eyes full of worry.

She stared at her room for exact 30 seconds before she nodded.

"Y.. yeah… there's just… so much… pink." – Her lips parted slightly at she looked around. Baby pink wall, classic rose curtains, deep carmine pink mica desk, lavender rose carpet, magenta windows frame, orchid pink bed...

Sting chuckled. - "I was horrified when I entered your room for the first time I came to your house. I couldn't believe there was a girl that was obsessive with pink like you."

She smiled, but her back was facing Sting, so he couldn't see it. Lucy unbuttoned her trench coat and attempted to use one hand to take it off, but Sting quickly stopped her. He didn't want her injuries to open.

"Let me." – He said quietly and tenderly helped her remove the item. He lifted her left arm gently, careful not to move her shoulder too much. Sting did it with sheer concentration.

_So close. _

Lucy stared at his face, she could feel his breath gently fanned her cheeks. His fingers brushed against her neck, leaving some hot trails on her skin. The heat from his body spread through her and she felt her heart rate slightly pick up. He took the coat completely off and looked at her when he felt her eyes on his face. Lucy quickly looked at the ground and coughed to cover her embarrassment when he caught her staring.

"Something on my face?" – Sting asked innocently. He, of course, was used to their proximity, but he forgot that Lucy wasn't. She shook her head frantically, blushing slightly. Sting furrowed his brows at her odd reaction before he shrugged. He hung the coat on the wall and Lucy came to sit on her bed.

"Hime, is there anything else I can do for you? I've finished unpacking your things." – Virgo bowed. _Hime? She always call me that?. _Trying to put that thought aside, Lucy waved in dismiss.

"No, thank you… eh…"

"Virgo, Hime."

"Ah… Thank you Virgo. You could go." – She said. Virgo bowed again and left.

Lucy's eyes landed on the pile of pictures on her dressing table. She picked some up and checked each one of them, leaning against the table. Those were from her dorm. Apparently, Layla thought that those photos could help her daughter remember something. Most of them were of Lucy, Sting, and Rogue. Lucy touched her face on the photo. It was like seeing another one but not her. Lucy in the picture was so lively, Lucy in this real life at the moment was a little dull.

"Beautiful, right?" – Sting said beside her, making her jump. She had forgotten that he was still in this room for a minute. He chuckled and put an arm behind her, hand rested at the other side of her hip. He leaned in closer to look at a photo that showed him a smiling face of Lucy.

She blushed at both: the close distance and his compliment. Lucy made an inclination of the body to the right to create some space. Fortunately, that went unnoticed by Sting, who was still looking at the picture in her hand. Lucy turned to another picture and her eyes widened. In that photo, she was sandwiched between Sting and Rogue and they were kissing both of her cheeks. All three of them were wearing red graduation suits, Lucy assumed that they were at their secondary high school graduation. Sting snickered when he spotted her pink cheeks just by looking at herself being kissed.

"Ah… Another pretty photo, you look cute." – He beamed. Her face darkened in color again.

_Is it just me or this room's starting to heat up?_.

She shook her head to clear her mind, Sting looked at her quizzically. She began to feel really uncomfortable, being near her friend like this. His presence was clouding her mind and she couldn't think of anything except the warmth of his body.

_Why? _

Lucy didn't know why she was feeling this way, she couldn't control anything in her mind and heart.

_Was the 'previous Lucy' feeling this way, too? If she did… then… it means she had… some kind of… feelings for him? _Lucy thought, oblivious to the look that Sting was giving her. _If that was the case, then it would explain why I feel this way. But… Considering his behavior, he probably didn't know about my feelings, he introduced himself as my 'friend', right?_

Lucy locked eyes with Sting, brows narrowing slightly in a calculating look. Sting blinked at her weirdness and tried to fight back his blush when she stared at him with such intensity like that. _But again, if I didn't feel that way about him before, does that mean… I'm abnormal? _Lucy thought, then scrunched her face in worry. She still looked into his eyes, but her thoughts were focused on something else.

"Eeh…Lucy?" – Sting hesitated.

_If it was the first case, should I tell him?_

"Lucy? Do you hear me?" – He asked again, louder.

_But if it was the second case, should I stay away from him so it would go away?_

"Lucy?" – Sting frowned. _What is she thinking?_

_I didn't feel like this when I was in the hospital… Maybe because I wasn't being near him like this before._

"LUCY!" – Sting practically shouted in her face and Lucy jolted from her thought. She squeaked and stepped back, almost falling from sudden outburst of Sting, if not because of his instant reaction. He quickly caught her before she hit the ground, an arm putting under her shoulder while the other embraced her waist. His face was nearly an inch from hers.

"Eeeek!" – Her eyes widened before she squealed and shoved him off, wincing at the pain that shot to her shoulder and hand.

"Idiot, be careful!" – He scolded her and took a step forward to check her injuries, but she held up a hand to stop him, panting slightly.

"I-I-I-I am fine, just s-st-stand there." – She put her right hand on her heart to calm its rate.

"Lucy, really, you're making me worry. Are you okay?" – He tried to take step forward again, but she took a step back, creating more distance between them.

"Really, I'm fine. Could… you… give me… a private moment?" – She gulped.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." – Sting demanded and approached her, Lucy continued to recede. She finally decided to take all her courage and strength to push him out of her room.

"Just get out. I need to think. I'm fine, don't worry." – She insisted.

"Luce, something's wrong, I can tell. Tell me Lu-" – He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence when her room's door slammed on his face. Lucy leaned against the door while Sting's presence was still on the other side. Her breath started to slow down.

"Lucy! Lucy, open the door." – Sting coaxed and pounded at her door. Lucy groaned at his persistence.

"Just go away, Sting. I'll be fine." – Lucy said loudly.

"No, you're not fine. Lucy, c'mon baby, don't be like that. Lucy? Luc-" – Sting suddenly stopped as Lucy's eyes widened to comic proportions when they realized what he just said.

_Did I/he just call her/me 'baby'? – _They both thought and blushed furiously.

"Ne-never mind, I-I'll leave you for a moment." – He stammered and quickly ran clean off. Lucy breathed out a relived sigh when she heard his footsteps slowly disappeared.

_Too much for one day._

**End of chapter 13  
**

* * *

**Phew~ Finally! Well, I'm almost late for school so... enjoy. Until next time! **

**Bái bai (it means bye) XD**


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